I saw Abu Saeed Khudri on a Friday praying toward something that screened him from the people. A young man from the tribe of Banu Abu Muayt tried to pass in front of him, so Abu Saeed pushed him in the chest. The young man looked around but found no way through except in front of Abu Saeed, so he tried to pass again. Abu Saeed pushed him back even harder than the first time, and the young man insulted Abu Saeed.The young man then went in to see Marwan and complained about what he had encountered from Abu Saeed. Abu Saeed came in after him to see Marwan, who said, "What is the matter between you and your nephew, Abu Saeed?"Abu Saeed replied, "I heard the Prophet ﷺ say, 'When one of you prays toward something that screens him from the people and someone tries to pass in front of him, let him push him back. If he refuses, let him fight him, for he is only a devil.'"
رأيت أبا سعيد الخدري في جمعة، يصلي إلى شيء يستره من الناس، فأراد شاب من بني أبي معيط أن يجتاز بين يديه فدفع أبو سعيد في صدره، فنظر الشاب فلم يجد مساغا إلا بين يديه، فعاد ليجتاز، فدفعه أبو سعيد أشد من الأولى، فنال من أبي سعيد، ثم دخل على مروان، فشكا إليه ما لقي من أبي سعيد، ودخل أبو سعيد خلفه على مروان، فقال: مالك ولابن أخيك يا أبا سعيد؟ قال: سمعت النبي ﷺ يقول: إذا صلى أحدكم إلى شيء يستره من الناس، فأراد أحد أن يجتاز بين يديه، فليدفعه، فإن أبى فليقاتله، فإنما هو شيطان.
Bukhari narrated it in "Prayer" (509), and Muslim in "Prayer" (505), both through Sulayman bin Mughira, who said, "Humayd bin Hilal Adawi narrated to us," who said, "Abu Salih Samman narrated to us," and he related it. The wording given is Bukhari's, and Muslim's wording is similar, except that he added, after the words "from the first push," "He stood there and rebuked Abu Saeed, then pushed through the people."His words "a way through" mean a path by which he could pass.His words "famathala" (with fatha on the meem, and with fatha or damma on the thaa) mean "he stood upright," and its present tense form is "yamthulu." From this comes the hadith, "Whoever likes people to stand up for him..."Malik narrated it in "Shortening the Prayer" (33), from Zayd bin Aslam, from Abdul-Rahman bin Abu Saeed Khudri, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When one of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him. Let him repel him as much as he can, and if he refuses, let him fight him, for he is only a devil," without the story.Muslim (505) narrated it from Yahya bin Yahya, from Malik, in the same way.Likewise, Muhammad bin Ajlan narrated it from Zayd bin Aslam, in abbreviated form without the story, adding "and let him draw close to it."Abu Dawud (698) and Ibn Majah (954) both narrated it from Muhammad bin Ala Abu Kurayb, who said, "Abu Khalid Ahmar narrated to us," from Muhammad bin Ajlan, with this wording. Its chain is hasan because of Muhammad bin Ajlan, though he was corroborated, and Ibn Hibban narrated it through this route in his Sahih (2772).Abu Dawud (699) also narrated it through another route, from Abu Saeed Khudri, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever among you is able to prevent anyone from coming between him and the direction of his prayer, let him do so." This chain includes Musarrah bin Mabad Lakhmi, who has been criticized, though his hadith is hasan.Imam Ahmad (11780) narrated it, and it includes an account of the Prophet's ﷺ strangling of the devil, and his choking of him during the prayer. Regarding the devil, see the chapter on repelling the jinn.His words "for he is only a devil" mean his companion devil who commands him to do evil, as in the hadith of Abdullah bin Umar.His words "let him fight him" mean let him repel him, and this is a matter of recommendation, not obligation.Nawawi said, "I do not know of any jurist who held that this repelling is obligatory. Rather, our companions have explicitly stated that it is recommended, not obligatory."Qadi Iyad said, "They agreed that he is not required to fight him with a weapon, nor with anything that would lead to his death. If he repels him with what is permissible, and he dies as a result, there is no retaliation against him by agreement. As for whether his blood money is owed or forfeited, there are two positions among the scholars, and they are two views within the Maliki school.He said, they also agreed that all of this applies only to one who has not been negligent in his prayer, but has rather taken precaution and prayed toward a barrier, or in a place where he is safe from anyone passing in front of him. This is indicated by his words in this hadith of Abu Saeed, 'When one of you prays toward something that shields him, and someone wants to pass in front of him, let him push against his chest, and if he refuses, let him fight him.'Likewise, they agreed that it is not permissible for him to walk from his place to turn the person back, but rather he should repel him and turn him back from where he stands, because the harm of walking during his prayer is greater than someone passing at a distance in front of him. He is only permitted to act to the extent his hand can reach from his position, and this is why he was commanded to stay close to his barrier. He should only turn back someone who is far from him by gesture and by saying tasbih. Likewise, they agreed that if the person has already passed, he should not turn him back, lest it become a second passing." End.