The Ruling on the Sutrah and Its Dimensions

Question:
We return at the beginning of this episode to a letter from one of our female listeners in Riyadh, who used the initials (K. A. 'A.) as a code for her name. In one of her questions, she says: I have learned that it is a Sunnah to place a sutrah in front of the one praying. Is it permissible to place a short sutrah, such as one that is a shibr in length? And if that is not valid, what is its required length?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Taking a sutrah for the one praying is a confirmed Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do it on his travels. He would carry with him a small stick with a pointed tip, which he would plant in front of him, (peace and blessings be upon him), and pray facing it. He would also pray facing a sutrah in the mosque, (peace and blessings be upon him).
So the Sunnah for every one who prays, whether a man or a woman, is to pray facing a sutrah. For this reason, in the authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud and others from Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: The Sunnah is to be close to it. When he prayed in the Ka'bah, (peace and blessings be upon him), he came close to the western wall until there was only three cubits between him and it.
So the Sunnah for the believing man and woman is to take a sutrah like a wall, a pillar, a chair in front of him, or something similar that has an upright body. The minimum of that is like the back of a saddle. The scholars said: It is approximately a cubit, or two-thirds of a cubit. If the upright sutrah is about two-thirds of a cubit, or what is close to that, it suffices if that is easy. If it is not easy, he prays even facing a thrown stick, or a line, as in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: .
So the believer strives, and so does the believing woman. If he finds a wall, he prays facing it, or a pillar, or a chair, or a piece of furniture he leans on, which he places in front of him, or a stick with a pointed tip that he plants in the ground, or something similar that has a base, or an upright shadow .... like a cubit, or what is close to it, two-thirds of a cubit, or what is close to that. If that is not easy for him, he places a cushion in front of him, or a thrown stick in front of him: [Al-Taghabun:16] according to what is easy, or a line if he is on the ground like in a desert, and he has nothing with him. He draws a line and that suffices, according to the correct opinion. The hadith is acceptable, as al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: Its chain is good. It was narrated by Ibn Majah and Ahmad and a group with a good chain.
So the conclusion is: This hadith regarding the line is acceptable according to the correct opinion. It is for when there is a need, when a wall and an upright stick are not available. He draws a line.
The sutrah is not obligatory. Rather, if he prays without a sutrah, his prayer is valid, but he has left the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to pray facing a sutrah. And if a donkey, or a mature woman, or a black dog passes between the sutrah and the one praying, it breaks the prayer, as in the authentic hadith. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas: meaning: the mature woman.
And this indicates that a young girl does not break it, and a man does not break it. Likewise, camels and sheep do not break it, and other beasts of burden except the donkey.
And likewise, all dogs do not break it except the black one. But it is not permissible for anything to pass in front of him; nothing should pass, due to the authentic hadith. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So if something wants to pass in front of you, you push it back and turn it away, even if it is a sheep, or a young girl. You turn it away if that is easy. But if it passes, it does not break it. It does not invalidate your prayer unless the one passing is a mature woman, or a donkey, or a black dog that passes in front of you close to you .. less than three cubits, or between you and the sutrah, even if it is more. If it is between you and the sutrah. As for what passes behind the sutrah, if it passes behind it, it does not harm, even if the one passing is a black dog, or a woman, or a donkey, if it is behind the sutrah. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.