How can the Hadith "Nothing interrupts prayer, so ward off as much as you can" be reconciled with the Hadith "If one of you prays towards something that screens him from people... he should fight him, for he is but a devil"?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
There is no contradiction between the two hadiths; they both agree on the command to repel the one passing in front of a worshipper, and that this passerby is a devil. So, "ward off what you can" is a command to resist and fight him if he refuses to move. The meaning of the passerby being a devil is that Satan incited him to pass, or that he acts like a devil, or that what is meant is the Qareen (companion jinn). The first adds that nothing interrupts the prayer.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 140871
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- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Read the full answer on Ftawy