❖ Menstruating Woman, Donkey, and Black Dog Invalidate the Prayer ❖
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
✦ Core Hadith on the Issue
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Dharr (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يقطع صلاة المرء المسلم – إذا لم يكن بين يديه مثل مؤخرة الرحل – المرأة والحمار والكلب الأسود
“The prayer of a Muslim man is broken if there is not in front of him something equal to the back of a saddle, by a woman, a donkey, and a black dog passing in front of him.”
📚 [Muslim: 510, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Qadr mā Yastur al-Muṣallī; Abū Dāwūd: 702; Tirmidhī: 337; Nasā’ī: 2/63; Ibn Mājah: 952; Aḥmad: 5/151; Ibn Khuzaymah: 806]
Another narration from Hazrat Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) includes the specific wording:
“المرأة الحائض“
“Menstruating woman”.
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 651; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Mā Yaqṭaʿ al-Ṣalāh; Abū Dāwūd: 703; Ibn Mājah: 949; Aḥmad: 1/437; Nasā’ī: 2/64; Ibn Khuzaymah: 832]
✦ Position of the Salaf and Early Imams
✔ This view—that a menstruating woman, a donkey, and a black dog invalidate the prayer if they pass in front of a person without a sutrah—is also reported from:
➤ Hazrat Abu Hurayrah, Hazrat Anas, Hazrat Ibn ʿAbbās, Hazrat Abu Dharr,
➤ Imam Hasan al-Baṣrī, Imam Abū al-Ahwāṣ, and Imam Ibn Ḥazm.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/210; al-Muḥallā bi’l-Āthār: 2/320]
✦ View of Imam Aḥmad (رحمه الله)
➤ Imam Aḥmad said:
“The black dog invalidates the prayer, but I remain uncertain about the woman and donkey.”
✦ Position of the Majority (Jumhūr Scholars)
➤ Imam al-Shāfiʿī, Imam Mālik, and Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, among others, held the opinion that:
None of these three (woman, donkey, black dog) nullify the prayer.
✔ Rather, they said the prayer remains valid, although the reward may be diminished.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/210; Sharḥ Muslim by al-Nawawī: 3/467; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/320; Sabil al-Salām: 1/330; al-Muḥallā bi’l-Āthār: 2/320]
✦ Their Evidence
They cite the hadith of Hazrat Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه):
لا يقطع الصلاة شيء وادرءوا ما استطعتم
“Nothing breaks the prayer. However, try your best to prevent anyone from passing in front of you.”
📚 [Ḍaʿīf: Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 143; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb man Qāla Lā Yaqṭaʿ al-Ṣalāh Shay’; al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr: 6366; al-Mishkāt: 785; Abū Dāwūd: 719; Bayhaqī: 2/278]
☞ However, this hadith is weak, as its chain includes Mujālid ibn Saʿīd, a narrator criticized for weakness.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/213; Taʿlīq ʿalā Sabil al-Salām by Shaykh Ḥāzim ʿAlī Qāḍī: 1/335]
✦ Views of Later Scholars
✔ Imam Shawkānī (رحمه الله):
Concluded that a menstruating woman and a black dog do indeed invalidate the prayer.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/212]
✔ Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله):
Held the view that these three break the prayer if no sutrah is present.
📚 [Taʿlīq ʿalā Sabil al-Salām by Shaykh ʿAbdullāh al-Bassām: 1/377]
✔ Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله):
Also favored this opinion.
📚 [Same reference]
✔ Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله):
Explicitly stated:
“These three things invalidate a person’s prayer.”
📚 [Al-Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 1/243]
✦ Conclusion (Rājiḥ View)
✔ The stronger opinion, based on the authentic Hadith of Hazrat Abu Dharr (رضي الله عنه) and upheld by major early and later scholars, is that:
A menstruating woman, a donkey, and a black dog break the prayer if they pass in front of a person who does not have a sutrah (barrier) in place.
✔ This view aligns with the textual evidence and should be adopted, especially given the weakness of the hadith cited by the majority to oppose this ruling.
