I would like to know the rules guiding the use of sutrah during salat,what can be used as sutrah,etc. Can someone put an object in front of him as sutrah while his salat is already in progress,like bending to pull an object by your side to your front while already praying? Thanks

Assalam alaykum sis, this is from islamqa.info, i believe it addresses some of your queries

What is the ruling on the sutrah [object
serving as a screen for one who is
praying]? If a dog, woman or donkey walks
in front of one, does that invalidate one's
prayer? What do we say concerning the
words of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased
with her), when she said: “Are you
including us along with dogs and
donkeys?”?.

Praise be to Allaah.
The sutrah is a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah
mu’akkadah). The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“When one of you prays, let him pray
facing a sutrah, and let him draw close to
it.” Narrated by Abu Dawood with a jayyid
isnaad. When the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) travelled,
he would take with him a short piece of
wood and pray facing it. It is a confirmed
Sunnah but it is not obligatory, because it is
proven that on some occasions, he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
prayed without a sutrah.

With regard to that which invalidates the
prayer, it is a donkey, a black dog, and an
adult woman, because the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“The prayer of a Muslim man is invalidated
if he does not have in front of him
something like the back of a saddle, by (the
passage in front of him of) a woman, a
donkey or a black dog.” Narrated by Muslim
in his Saheeh from the hadeeth of Abu
Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him).
Muslim also narrated it from Abu Hurayrah
(may Allaah be pleased with him), without
mentioning the word black. The basic
principle is that a general statement is to be
interpreted in terms of the specific
statement. In the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas it
says “A woman who menstruates” i.e., an
adult woman. The correct view is that which
is indicated by the hadeeth: that these three
invalidate the prayer.
With regard to the words of ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), they are her
own opinion and conclusion. She said:
“What a bad thing to liken us to donkeys
and dogs.” She said that she used to lie in
front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he
was praying, but that is not passing in
front, because lying is not called passing .

The Sunnah concerning that was not known
to her, and the one who learns something is
a proof against the one who is unaware of
it. If a person prays facing someone who is
opposite him, sitting or lying down, that
does not affect him. Rather what invalidates
the prayer is if it passes in front of him
from one side to another, if the one who
passes is front is one of the three
mentioned and passes in front of him, or
between him and the sutrah. If the female is
young and has not reached the age of
puberty, or the dog is not black, or
something such as a camel or sheep and the
like passes in front, then none of these
invalidate the prayer. But it is prescribed for
the one who is praying not to let anything
pass in front of him, even if it does not
invalidate the prayer, because of the
hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah
be pleased with him), which says that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “If one of you prays facing
something that is screening him from the
people, and someone wants to pass
[directly] in front of him, let him push him
away, and if he insists then let him fight
him, for he is a devil.” Saheeh – agreed
upon.

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (24/21, 22)

Is the reward for prayer reduced by half if
one does not have a sutrah?

Is there a hadeeth which says that praying
without a sutrah reduces the (reward for)
the prayer to half?
If there is such a hadeeth, please tell me the
name of the narrator and who transmitted
it.
Praise be to Allaah.
We have not found any hadeeth from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be
upon him) to suggest that the reward for a
prayer offered without a sutrah in front of
the worshipper is reduced by half. It is most
likely that this is the opinion reached by one
of the scholars. Many hadeeths have been
narrated enjoining use of a sutrah and
praying facing towards it, and warning
against the shaytaan interrupting the
prayer if one prays without a sutrah.
It was narrated from Sahl ibn Abi Hathmah
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him) said: “If one of you
prays facing a sutrah, let him draw close to
it and not let the shaytaan interrupt his
prayer.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood (number 695);
classed as hasan by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-
Tamheed (4/1505); classed as saheeh by al-
Nawawi in al-Majmoo’ (3/244); classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.
Al-Azeemabaadi (may Allaah have mercy on
him) says:
i.e., so he will not be distracted by whispers
from the shaytaan. It may be understood
from this that the sutrah prevents the
shaytaan from taking over the worshipper
and instilling his whispers into his heart,
either completely or partially, according to
the worshipper's sincerity and his focusing
and turning to Allaah in his prayer. If there
is no sutrah then the shaytaan can cause
him to fail to pray with proper focus and
humility. End quote.
‘Awn al-Ma’bood (2/275).
Perhaps the one who said that the reward
for prayer of one who prays without a
sutrah is reduced was referring to this
meaning, especially if someone walks in
front of him and interrupts his prayer. In
that case the one who walks in front of him
is sinning and the one who was praying is
affected by the distraction from his prayer
because of his shortcoming.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:
It may be understood as referring to
interruption of the prayer by someone
walking in front of him and distracting him,
which is mentioned in the hadeeths:
interruption of khushoo’ (proper focus) and
the harm resulting from being distracted by
the one who walks in front, and the
shaytaan being able to get control of him
by whispering and distracting him from
what he is doing so that he does not
understand anything of his prayer or
anything except a little, so he misses out on
the reward. All of that is what is referred to
in the hadeeth in which the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him)
says: “and not let the shaytaan interrupt his
prayer”
Al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (1/170)
This also explains what was narrated from
Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with
him) when he said:
If anyone wants to walk in front of you
when you are praying, do not let him, for
he will make you lose half of your prayer.
End quote
al-Musannaf (2/25) with an isnaad which
includes a unknown narrator.
It is also the meaning of what was said by
some of the salaf such as Abu Ishaaq and
Yahya ibn Abi Katheer, that it is not
appropriate to pray without a sutrah. This
was narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir in al-Awsat
(no. 2395), and a similar meaning is found
in a report narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzaaq in al-
Musannaf (2/26), Bab man salla ila ghayri
sutrah.
Whatever the case, the scholars are agreed
that prayer without a sutrah is still valid,
even though the reward for it is less than
that of one who prays facing a sutrah. But
there is no report which indicates that this
detraction is as much as half of the reward.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:
If a person prays without a sutrah when he
is able to do so, there is no difference of
opinion concerning the fact that his prayer
is valid.
Al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (1/160).
What is meant is that the scholars are
unanimously agreed that his prayer is valid.

And Allaah knows best.

I have read the fatwas on your website regarding the sutrah and I am still confused about the following two items:
a. In terms of height or width, what is the minimum that will be accepted as a sutrah?
b. What is closest and farthest distance can one stand from the sutrah when praying?.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is mustahabb for the imam and the one who is praying alone to pray facing a sutrah, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood (598) from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When one of you prays, let him pray facing a sutrah and let him draw close to it.” Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad is hasan saheeh. It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (24/177): It is Sunnah for the worshipper, if he is praying alone or as an imam, to have a sutrah in front of him that will prevent people from walking in front of him, and to enable him to focus properly on the actions of the prayer. That is because of the report narrated by Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When one of you prays, let him pray facing a sutrah and let him draw close to it and not let anyone pass in front of him.” And because he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Let one of you use a sutrah when praying, even if it is an arrow.” In the case of one who is praying behind an imam, it is not mustahabb for him to use a sutrah according to scholarly consensus, because the sutrah of the imam is the sutrah of the one who is praying behind him, or because the imam is a sutrah for him. End quote.

Secondly: The Sunnah is for the worshipper to use something standing as a sutrah, and it is better if it is the height of the back of a saddle or more, because of the report narrated by Muslim (771) from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked about the sutrah for one who is praying and he said: “Like the back of a saddle.” Narrated by Muslim (771). Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In this hadeeth it is recommended to have a sutrah in front of the one who is praying, and it explains that the minimum sutrah is the back of a saddle, which is the length of the forearm, or approximately two thirds of a cubit. This purpose may be served by anything that he sets up in front of him. End quote from Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 4/216 Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to whether it should be thick or thin, there is no definition that we are aware of. It may be thin like an arrow or a spear, or it may be thick like a wall. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to use a short spear as a sutrah. Abu Sa‘eed said: We used to use an arrow or a rock as a sutrah for prayer. And it was narrated from Saburah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Use a sutrah for prayer even if it is an arrow.” Narrated by al- Athram. Al-Awzaa‘i said: An arrow or a whip is sufficient. Ahmad said: And what is broader than that is preferable to me. That is because the words “even if it is an arrow” indicate that something else is more appropriate than it. End quote from al-Mughni, 2/38 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the size of the sutrah for one who is praying. He replied: The best sutrah that a person puts when he prays is the height of the back of a saddle, approximately two-thirds of a cubit, but if it is less than that, it does not matter; even if it is an arrow or a stick, it is acceptable. End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 13/326

Thirdly: The Sunnah is for the worshipper to stand close to his sutrah, so that he can stop anyone who tries to walk in front of him, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood (695) from Sahl ibn Abi Hathmah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who said: “When one of you prays facing a sutrah, let him draw close to it so that the Shaytaan will not interrupt his prayer.” Classed as hasan by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-Tamheed (4/195); classed as saheeh by al-Nawawi in al-Majmoo ‘ (4/195) and by al- Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed concerning the distance and from where it should be measured. Some of them said that the distance is three cubits from the feet of the one who is praying, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed in the Ka‘bah with three cubits between him and the wall. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (506). This is the view of the Hanafis, Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis, and it is what may be understood from the words of Maalik, because the distance between the one who is praying and the sutrah should be as much as he needs to stand, bow and prostrate. See: al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (24/184). Others were of the view that the distance should be sufficient to allow a sheep to pass, from the place where the worshipper prostrates, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (474) and Muslim (508) from Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: Between the place where the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed and the wall there was a space where a sheep could pass. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In the hadeeth, Between the place where the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed and the wall there was a space where a sheep could pass, what is meant by the place where he prayed is the place where he prostrated. This indicates that the Sunnah is for the one who is praying to be close to his sutrah. End quote.
Some scholars reconcile between the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar and that of Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with them both) by interpreting the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar, which mentions three cubits, as applying when the worshipper is standing, and the hadeeth of Sahl, which mentions a space where a sheep could pass, as applying when the worshipper is prostrating. End quote.
And Allah knows best.

Hallie27: I would like to know the rules guiding the use of sutrah during salat,what can be used as sutrah,etc. Can someone put an object in front of him as sutrah while his salat is already in progress,like bending to pull an object by your side to your front while already praying? Thanks

In regards to the bolded, actions which are not part of solat, nullifys the solat, except for actions in cases of necessity such as killing or removing harmful things whic can cause distractions, after which one resumes prayer.

In the light of this, i'll also want to think it permissible, if one fears that he can be interrupted/distracted or his prayers can be invalidated, perhaps one is praying in a common room or an open space, which involves people moving around, to put something as a sutrah even while praying. Another similar case is the mobile phone, which scholars have agreed that it can be switched off even while praying because it causes distractions.
Allah knows best.

Actions which make the salat better are permitted during it and that includes putting the sutrah even after the salaat may have started.

^Exactly

Jazakumullahu khairan,Amin. I really appreciate your posts. Thank you.

Hallie27: Jazakumullahu khairan,Amin. I really appreciate your posts. Thank you.

Wa iyyakum, you are welcome.

Asalam alaykum..as regards the hadith about a woman,a donkey and dog invalidating salah,does it apply to the salah of a woman also when another woman passes in front of her?

Hallie27: Asalam alaykum..as regards the hadith about a woman,a donkey and dog invalidating salah,does it apply to the salah of a woman also when another woman passes in front of her?

Wa alaykum salam sis,
The hadith is quite explicit in regards to the case of a male Muslim, but for a female, i don't know. I haven't come across any hadith or Islamic jurist opinion on it.

It is safe to mention that the solat of the female in her home is much more rewarding, and she is not expected to lead the solat if per chance she goes to the mosque or finds herself in an open place, perhaps the emphasis on the male in the hadith.

The general principle is that sutrah is a cumpulsory sunnah, for both male and female when they offer solat cos the prophet(SAW) said, "when one of you prays, he should face a sutrah..." .
Another is the instruction to repel a person who wants to pass in between you and the sutrah and if he resist, he is a devil.
Allah knows best.