In another narration, the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) said: ‘When you intend to do your Sal?t, do it towards a sutrah and come close to it lest Shait?n passes in front of you’. (1)

Commenting on Ab? Sa‘?d’s narration, Ash - Shaw K?n? said: ‘It states the obligation of doing Sal?t towards a Sutrah (2) ... Most of the ah?d?th affirm this obligation to which we must adhere unless there are circumstantial evidences that may shift the prophet’s ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) order from being an obligation to a recommendation. As for the prophet’s ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) had?th: ‘Those who pass in front of you shall not harm you [i.e. your Sal?t]’, it must not be considered as one of the circumstantial evidences for avoiding whatever that could render one’s Sal?t invalid or lessens its rewards is an obligation’. (3)

The Sutrah protects one’s Sal?t from being invalid in case a [grown up] woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him/ her - as is narrated in one of the ah?d?th - and also prevents those who want to pass in front of him/ her (4) from doing so.

For the Sutrah’s great importance, the righteous Salaf ( - رضي الله عنه -) were keen to perform their Sal?t towards it and urged other muslims to do the same and condemned those who did the opposite. ‘Umar ( - رضي الله عنه -) gives us a great example; Qurrah Ibn Iy?s said: “‘Umar saw me performing Sal?t between two poles. He took hold of me and directed me towards a Sutrah [one of the poles] and then said: “Do your Sal?t towards it’. (5) Commenting on this event, Al-H?fith Ibn Hajar said: “‘Umar intended to teach Ibn ’Iy?s that he should do his Sal?t towards a Sutrah’. (6)