As it is not allowed to pass infront of a man in prayer, is there any area mentioned in Hadith beyond which we shouldn't pass...?
Answer:
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.78a-
It is forbidden to pass in front of a person who is praying (i.e., between him and his sutrah) .
Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet (saws) said: "When one of you prays, he should place something in front of him (sutra). If he cannot find anything, he should prop up his staff [in front of him]. If he does not have a staff, he should draw a line [on the ground in front of him] then nothing that passes in front of him will harm him." This is related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibban.
Busr ibn Sa'id says that Zaid ibn Khalid sent him to Abu Juhaim to ask him what he had heard from the Prophet (saws) concerning passing in front of someone who is praying. He said that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If one knew [the sin] of passing in front of one who is praying, he would rather wait forty [...] than to pass in front of him.
Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad and Abu Dawood. Zaid ibn Khalid relates that the Messenger of Allah said: "If the one who passes in front of one who is praying knew what was upon him [of sin], it would be better for him to stand [and wait] for forty autumns than to pass in front of him." Related by al-Bazzar.
From the above guidance of our beloved prophet Mohammad (pbuh) it is encouraged to use sutra while praying so that nothing that passes in front of him will harm him. When a believer is praying with sutra then it is prohibited to pass between him and his ‘sutrah’ and also it is a grave sin. However if a believer unintentionally crosses the path of a person in salah, then there is no sin upon him owing to the fact that he was unaware. But if one intentionally crosses the path of a person in salah then it is likely that he will be accountable to Allah.
Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
- "Jurists of the stature of Ibn Hibban and others are of the opinion that the prohibition mentioned in the above hadith applies when one is praying with a ‘sutrah’. If one is praying without a ‘sutrah’, it is not forbidden to pass in front of him. As a proof, Ibn Hibban argues by the hadith, in his sahih, from al-Mutalib ibn Abi Wid'ah who said: 'I saw the Prophet (saws) when he (saws) finished the circumambulation [of the Ka'bah], he (saws) went to the end of the circuit and he prayed two rak'at and there was nothing between him and the people who were circumambulating." Ibn Hibban says: "This report proves that it is permissible to pass in front of a person who is praying but without a ‘sutrah’. In this lies a clear proof that the warning concerning passing in front of one who is praying refers only to one who is praying toward his sutrah and does not refer to one who does not have a sutrah." Ibn Hibban further explains that the Prophet's (saws) prayer was without anything between him and the people circumambulating the Ka'bah. At the end of the hadith of al-Mutalib, he records: "I saw the Prophet of Allah (saws) offering salah facing the black stone and the men and women were passing in front of him, and there was no ‘sutrah’ between him and them.
Narrated 'Aun bin Abi Juhaifa: that he had heard his father saying, "Allah's Apostle came to us at mid-day and water was brought for his ablution. He performed ablution and led us in Zuhr and 'Asr prayers with an 'Anza planted in front of him (as a Sutra), while women and donkeys were passing beyond it." SAHIH AL_BUKHARI[Vol.1 : Book 9 : No. 478]
Although one should strive their best to avoid walking in front of one who is praying, if one were to pass beyond two or three meters in front of one who is praying, the vast majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that there is no harm. And Allah alone knows the best.
