And if the passerby does not stop despite being prevented, then it is permissible to fight him with the hand. In this regard, a concise, unexplained narration is mentioned.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any one of you is performing prayer, he should not allow anyone to pass in front of him. If the person refuses (to stop and insists on passing), then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

And the clarification is that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, only commanded the one praying towards a sutrah to prevent the passerby in front of him, and permitted him to fight him if he is praying towards a sutrah, not if he is praying without a sutrah.

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Abi Saeed narrates from his esteemed father, Sayyiduna Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), that he was offering prayer using a pillar as a sutrah, when a person from Banu Umayyah tried to pass in front of him. He stopped him, but the man tried to pass again, so he struck his chest. That man was from Banu Umayyah, and he reported this incident to Marwan (the governor). Marwan met Sayyiduna Abu Saeed (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked, "Why did you hit your nephew?" He replied, "Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'When any one of you is praying using something as a sutrah, and someone tries to pass in front of him, he should stop him. If he refuses to stop, then he should fight him, for he is a devil.'" Indeed, I have only struck a devil.

And the clarification is that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, only permitted the one praying to fight the person passing in front of him after preventing him from passing twice, not at the beginning when he first intends to pass in front of him.

Abu Salih narrates that while Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) was praying on Friday, he then narrated a hadith similar to the hadith of Sulaiman bin Mughirah, which is mentioned ahead in another chapter. However, there is an addition in this narration that indeed I tried to stop him but he refused to stop. He says that in those days Marwan was the governor of Madinah Munawwarah, so he complained to the governor. Then Marwan mentioned this matter to Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) when they met, so Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When something passes in front of any one of you while he is praying, he should prevent it twice, then if it refuses to stop (and tries to pass by force), he should fight it, for indeed it is Satan."

Hazrat Abu Salih narrates that while Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) was performing prayer on Friday, using something as a sutrah in front of the people, suddenly a young man from Banu Abi Mu'it came to him and tried to pass in front of him. So he pushed him in the chest. He (the young man) looked around for another way but found no path except in front of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), so he tried to pass again. Then he pushed him harder than the first time. The narrator said that then the person stood up, spoke ill of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), and left (the mosque). He went to Marwan and complained about the harm he received from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator says that Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) also came to Marwan, so he (Marwan) said, "What happened between you and your nephew that he is complaining about you?" Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'When any one of you is praying and someone tries to pass in front of him, he should push him in the chest. Then if he refuses to stop, he should fight him, for verily he is a devil.'"

The meaning of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that with the one who passes in front of a person praying, there is a devil; it does not mean that the person passing is himself a devil, although the word "devil" is also used for disobedient humans. Allah Almighty says, «‏‏‏‏وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورً» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الأنعام: 112 ] "In this way, We have made for every prophet enemies—devils from among mankind and jinn—who inspire one another with decorative speech in delusion."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You must certainly pray with a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you. Then if he refuses (to stop), then fight him, for indeed there is a companion (Satan) with him."

Hazrat Iyas bin Amir narrates that I heard Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer voluntary prayers at night while Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would be lying between him (peace be upon him) and the Qiblah. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: By "he glorifies at night," what is meant is the voluntary prayer.