Ruling on a Woman Passing in Front of a Praying Person

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*Ruling on a Woman Passing in Front of a Praying Person*

*Q: When we were offering Maghrib (Sunset) Prayer and there was not a Sutrah (barrier placed in front of a person praying) before the Imam, a woman passed in front of him at a distance of about two meters. Is Salah (Prayer) in this case valid?*

_A: If there was a distance of about three arm lengths, then there is nothing wrong. However, if it was less than this, then it would invalidate Salah. It is reported that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prayed towards the wall of the Ka’bah and there was a distance of three arm lengths between him and the wall. The scholars deduced from this that three arms is the limit of one performing the prayer without a Sutrah in front of them. If there is a Sutrah, then this would not invalidate Salah, unless she passed in the area between him and his Sutrah. As for her passing at about two meters distance in front of the Imam who did not have a Sutrah, then in sha’a-Allah (if Allah wills), this would not invalidate Salah because the two meters are more than three arm lengths._

[Majmoo ’al-Fataawa Ibn Baaz, Vol.: 30; pg. 126]