What is the distance that invalidates the prayer if a donkey or a black dog passes in front of the one praying? Is it measured by one meter or two meters? And is the prayer repeated if it is invalidated after that, or not?

The questioner : What is the distance that invalidates the prayer if a donkey or a black dog passes in front of the one praying? Is it measured by one meter or two meters? And is the prayer repeated if it is invalidated after that, or not?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Three things invalidate the prayer: the donkey, the black dog, and the woman, as established in "Sahih Muslim" from the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Based on this, we say that if a person has a sutrah (barrier) and these pass behind it, they do not invalidate the prayer nor diminish it, even if the sutrah is close to his place of prostration and there is less than three cubits between them and his feet. The prayer is valid as long as they are behind the sutrah. However, if he has no sutrah and they pass in front of him, they invalidate his prayer. If the donkey passes in front of him, it invalidates his prayer and he must repeat it. If the black dog passes in front of him, it invalidates his prayer and he must repeat it. If the woman, meaning an adult woman, passes in front of him, she invalidates his prayer and he must repeat the prayer. But what is meant by "in front of him"? Many scholars say that what is meant by "in front of him" is a distance of three cubits, approximately one and a half meters, from his feet. Some scholars say that "in front of him" is the end of his prostration, meaning the place of his forehead, and that he has no right to what is beyond that, because a person is entitled to the space on the earth he needs for his prayer, and he does not need more than the place of his prostration for his prayer. This is the most correct opinion in my view: that if a person has no sutrah, the end of the respected space for him is the place of his prostration, meaning he has no right to what is beyond the place of his forehead in prostration, and it does not harm him if anyone passes behind it. With this, the answer becomes clear: if the adult woman, the donkey, and the black dog pass between the one praying and his sutrah, his prayer is invalid and he must repeat it. And if he has no sutrah and they pass between him and the place of his prostration, his prayer is invalid and he must repeat it.