Sayyiduna Sahl bin Abi Hathmah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When a person offers prayer facing towards a sutrah, and he stays close to it, then Satan will not cut off his prayer."
Hadith Referenceمسند الحميدي / 405
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسناده صحيح
Hadith Takhrij«إسناده صحيح أخرجه ابن خزيمة فى «صحيحه» برقم: 803، وابن حبان فى «صحيحه» برقم: 2373، والحاكم في«مستدركه» برقم: 928، والنسائي في«المجتبى» برقم: 747، والنسائي فى «الكبرى» برقم: 826، وأبو داود فى «سننه» برقم: 695، والبيهقي فى «سننه الكبير» برقم: 3530،3531، وأحمد فى «مسنده» ، برقم: 16338، والطيالسي في«مسنده» برقم: 1439، وابن أبى شيبة فى «مصنفه» ، برقم: 2891»
Benefit: Also, when someone prays without a sutrah (barrier), Satan breaks his prayer. The aforementioned hadith from Musnad al-Humaydi is authentic. It was narrated by Abu Dawud (695), al-Nasa’i (748), and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah (803), Ibn Hibban (2373), and al-Hakim (1/251), who said: «صـحـيـح عـلى شرط الشيخين» and al-Nawawi [خلاصة الاحكام 1732]. Al-‘Uqayli said: «وهذا ثابت الضعفاء» 4/196, and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: “A good (hasan) hadith,” al-Tamhid 4/195. Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The men of its chain are the men of Muslim” [تـهـذيـب الـسـنـن ـ وصـحـحـه الالباني][الصحيحة 1373 صحيح ابي داود 692] and al-A‘zami [الجامع الكامل ح : 2546], and Nabil ibn Mansur [انيس السارى : 39/1].
From this authentic hadith, it is understood that one should pray close to a sutrah; otherwise, there is a danger that Satan will break the prayer of the one who prays without a sutrah. May Allah grant us the ability to be diligent in using a sutrah. Amin.
Source: Musnad al-Humaydi: Commentary by Muhammad Ibrahim bin Bashir, Page: 405
´It was narrated that Sahl bin Abi Hathmah said:` "When anyone of you prays toward a Sutra, let him get close to it and not allow the Shaitan to sever his prayer for him."
Hafiz Muhammad Ameen
749. Commentary:
➊ It has been mentioned previously that a sutrah also protects from Satan, because Satan, where he finds the worshipper’s thoughts scattered, tries to break the prayer as well, whereas the sutrah is a means of protection from him.
➋ The sutrah should be close to the place of prostration (sajdah), so that the gaze does not go beyond the place of prostration. If the sutrah is far, the gaze will go forward and it will also be difficult to avoid Satanic attacks, thus the original purpose will be lost. Therefore, the one performing prayer should certainly take care to use a sutrah, so that he himself does not fall into sin and does not give opportunity to others either.
➌ Nowadays, acting upon this Sunnah is almost nonexistent, so there is great need for its propagation. The hadith in which it is mentioned that nothing breaks the prayer is weak in its chain of narration. For a detailed discussion, see: [ضعیف سنن أبي داود ، (مفصل) للألباني : 265/9 ، حدیث : 116]
Source: Sunan Nasa'i: Translation and Benefits by Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Amin Hafizullah, Page: 749