Tirmidhi

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In the previous hadith, the person praying was instructed that after establishing a sutrah (barrier), he should first gently and then firmly prevent anyone from passing in front of him.
Now, the one passing in front is being warned that the consequence of this action is extremely dangerous.
Therefore, if he is stopped, he should consider it a blessing of the prayer, that it has saved him from sin and the punishment of the Hereafter.
It should be noted that there is no ambiguity in the original narration; rather, Busar bin Sa‘id had specified the day, month, or year, but the subsequent narrator could not remember. The meaning is that passing in front of someone praying is a grave sin.
If the passerby were to realize the severity of this, he would consider standing for ages to be better than passing in front.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/756)
➋
In some manuscripts of Sahih al-Bukhari, the words (مِنَ الإِثمِ) “of sin” are also present, but all other reliable books of hadith narrate this without this addition; only in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah do the words (مِنَ الإِثمِ) appear.
This too is an explanation by a narrator, not the words of the hadith itself.
It is possible that these words were written in the margin of al-Bukhari, and then a copyist included them in the main text. Also, from the wording of the narration, it is understood that this grave sin will be incurred by the one who knows about it and then deliberately commits it. Furthermore, this warning is for the one who passes in front of the person praying.
However, if someone stands, sits, or sleeps in front of the person praying, the apparent wording indicates that this warning does not apply to them. Yes, if we consider the reason for the prohibition to be the distraction of the person praying, then all these situations would fall under the meaning of passing in front.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/757)
➌
Allamah Taqi al-Din Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id rahimahullah has provided some details regarding the circumstances of the passerby and the person praying, the summary of which is presented for the readers:
© If the person praying moves away from the general pathway and establishes a sutrah (barrier) in front of him and there is an alternative route for the passerby, but he deliberately passes in front of the person praying, then the one passing in front is a criminal and sinner.
© If the person praying starts his prayer in a general pathway without a sutrah, there is no alternative route for the passerby, and for some reason, it is necessary for him to pass and he cannot wait, then in this case all responsibility falls on the person praying; the passerby is compelled and there is no sin upon him.
© If the person praying starts his prayer in a general pathway without a sutrah, and there is an alternative route, but the passerby still passes in front of the person praying, then just as the person praying is sinful for starting prayer without a sutrah, the passerby is also a criminal for passing in front despite the presence of an alternative route.
© If the person praying moves away from the general pathway and establishes a sutrah, but there is no alternative route for the passerby because the pathway is blocked, then in such a case neither the person praying is sinful nor is the passerby a criminal, because the person praying had established a sutrah and the passerby had no other route, so he was compelled to pass in front.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/757)
However, the apparent meaning of this hadith requires that, in absolute terms, passing in front of someone praying is prohibited, whether or not the passerby has an alternative route.
He should wait until the person praying completes his prayer.
The incident related by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu supports this.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/758)

Regarding the Application of Hadiths about Passing in Front of a Person Praying

«عن أبى جهيم الأنصاري قال: سمعت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لأن يقوم أحدكم أربعين خير له من ان يمر بين يديه، قال: ما أدرى أربعين يوماً أو أربعين شهراً أو أربعين سنة»

“It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Juhaim Ansari radi Allahu anhu that I heard the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say: If one of you stands waiting for forty, it is better for him than passing in front of a person who is praying. The narrator of the hadith says: I do not know whether forty refers to forty days, forty months, or forty years.”

[تخريج: رواه مسلم 507، وابن ماجه، والبخارى، وأبوداؤد، والترمذي، والنسائي، والدارمي، وأحمد، والبهيقي، والبغوى، وعبدالرزاق 2322 ش]

Whereas in another narration, it is as follows:

«عن أبى هريرة. قال: قال رسول صلى الله عليه وسلم ”لويعلم الذى يمر بين يدى أخيه معترضاً وهوينا جي ربه لكان ان يقف مكانه مئة عام خير له من الخطوة التى خطا .“»

“It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu that he said: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: If the one who passes in front of his brother who is praying and whispering to his Lord knew (how great a sin it is), he would stand in that place for one hundred years, and that would be better for him than passing in front of the person praying.”

[تخريج: رواه أحمد 371/2، وابن ماجه، و ابن حبان، وابن خزيمه]

Application:

➊ Among both narrations, the decisive narration is that of Abu Juhaim radi Allahu anhu, in which the number forty is mentioned, and further detail is found in Musnad al-Bazzar «اربعين خريفاً», that is, forty years. As for the narration of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, it has been narrated by Ibn Majah and others, but its chain of transmission is extremely weak; in its chain is ‘Abdur Rahman bin Muhib, who is weak. [تهذيب التهذيب جلد 5 ص 395]

➋ Imam Tahawi, in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar 1/48, states: From the collection of hadiths, it is evident that the ambiguity in “arba‘in” (forty) refers to years, not months or days.

And the hadith of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, according to us, is later than the hadith of Abu Juhaim, because the warning for the one who passes in front of the person praying in Abu Hurairah’s narration is greater than that in Abu Juhaim’s narration, and there is leniency in Abu Juhaim’s narration. Also, since the hadith of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu is very weak, it is not suitable for use as evidence.

The hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Juhaim radi Allahu anhu is absolutely authentic and clear. And the narrator of the hadith, after this narration, has expressed a doubt as to what is meant by forty: is it forty years, forty months, or forty days? So this statement of doubt is not in the marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet) narration, but rather it is the assumption of the narrator. However, from the narration of Musnad al-Bazzar, it becomes clear that what is meant by forty is forty years.

701. Commentary:
➊ From this, one can gauge how grave a sin it is to deliberately pass in front of someone performing prayer, whether the prayer is obligatory (fard) or voluntary (nafl).
➋ The omission of specifying whether the number forty refers to days, months, or years is to emphasize the severity of this punishment. However, in some weak narrations, the word "year" («خريف») has appeared, which further clarifies the abhorrence and repulsiveness of this sin.

757. Commentary:

➊ In this narration, there is no mention of the year after forty. In Musnad al-Bazzar, the word "khareef" appears, which means "year," but this word is weak in its chain of transmission and not acceptable as proof. For details, see: [تمام المنة للألباني ، ص : 302 ، و فتح الباري : 585/1 ، حدیث : 510]
In one hadith, «مائة عام» there is mention of "standing for one hundred years," but in its chain of transmission, ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mawhib is weak, and his uncle ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mawhib is unknown. See: [تھذیب الکمال : 80/19]
Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has also declared it weak in Da‘if Ibn Majah. From this, it is understood that specifying the counted number is not correct. The counted number has been left ambiguous. In Arabic, this method is intended to express rebuke, reprimand, and the gravity of the matter. In any case, the intent is not the number itself, but abundance and emphasis. And Allah knows best.

➋ The notion of remaining halted for forty or a hundred years is also an impossible supposition; otherwise, it is inconceivable for a human being to pray or remain standing in one place for such a long time.

Lexical Explanation:
«بَابُ سُتْرَةِ الْمُصَلِّي» The “seen” in sutrah has a dammah (u-sound) and the “ta” is sukun (silent). It refers to that which a person performing prayer sets up or stands upright in front of his place of prostration, or makes as a barrier—whether it is a wall, a pillar, a spear, or a piece of wood, etc.—so that this sutrah serves as a barrier between the passerby and the one praying.
«اَلْمَارُّ», «مُرُور» is an active participle meaning “the one who passes by.”
«خَرِيفًا» means “year.” Khareef is the name of a season, opposite to rabee‘, and it is harvested only once a year; therefore, here a part is mentioned but the whole is intended. This is a type of metonymy (majaaz mursal).

Narrator of the Hadith:
(Sayyiduna Abu Juhaim bin Harith radi Allahu anhu) It is said that his name was Abdullah bin Harith bin Sammah al-Ansari. He belonged to the Khazraj tribe. He was a well-known Companion. He lived until the caliphate of Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah radi Allahu anhu. «جُهَيْم», «جَهْم» is a diminutive form, and «الصِمَّة» has a kasrah (i-sound) under the “sad” and a shaddah (doubling) on the “meem.”

Benefit:
It is prohibited to pass in front of someone performing prayer, and if anyone attempts to pass, the person praying should prevent him. Regrettably, people have abandoned the practice of taking a sutrah. Observing the sutrah brings about many great benefits.