What is the ruling on a woman passing in front of another woman during prayer?
The prayer is not invalidated by a woman passing in front of a worshipper, whether male or female, according to the majority of scholars. As for those who say it invalidates the prayer, they differed on whether a woman passing in front of a female worshipper invalidates her prayer. Some of them prohibited this, based on the hadith: "The prayer of a man is interrupted if there is nothing in front of him like the back of a saddle by: a woman, a donkey, and a black dog." Others said that mentioning 'man' is merely a generalization, and a woman is similar in ruling. Passing in front of a worshipper is forbidden, according to the hadith: "If the one passing in front of a worshipper knew what was upon him, standing for forty would be better for him than passing in front of him." This applies to both men and women. If the worshipper uses a sutrah (barrier), then whatever passes in front of him from behind it does not harm him.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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