the path of a sheep. Recorded by al-Bukhari (24). And from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Draw near to the Qibla (25)." Recorded by al-Athram (26). Al-Khattabi mentioned in "Ma'alim al-Sunan" (27) that Malik ibn Anas was one day praying while being distant (28) from the sutra, so a man who did not know him passed by him and said: "O you who are praying, draw near to your sutra." Malik began to move forward while he was reciting: {And He has taught you that which you did not know, and the grace of Allah upon you has ever been great} (29). This is because being close to the sutra is more protective of his prayer and further from anything passing between him and it, which would intervene between him and the sutra. Once this is established, he should place between himself and his sutra three cubits or less. Muhanna said: I asked Abu Abd Allah about the man who is praying; how much should be between him and the Qibla? He said: "Draw as near to the Qibla as you are able." Then he later said: Ibn Umar said: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed in the Kaaba, and there was between him and the wall three cubits (31). Al-Maymuni (32) said: I saw you at about four. He said: "That was out of forgetfulness." Abd Allah ibn Mughaffal used to place six cubits between himself and his sutra. Ata said: The least that suffices you is three cubits. Al-Shafi'i also held this view.
(24) In: The Chapter on the amount of distance that should be between the one praying and the sutra, from the Book of Prayer, and in: The Chapter on what the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) mentioned... etc., from the Book of al-I'tisam. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/133, 9/129. It was also recorded by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the drawing near of the one praying to the sutra, from the Book of Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/364. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on drawing near to the sutra, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/160, with the wording: "the passage of a goat." (25) The root of al-rahaq is to approach something and draw near to it. Gharib al-Hadith by Abu Ubayd 4/370. (26) See its verification in Fayd al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami' al-Saghir 1/479. (27) Ma'alim al-Sunan 1/187. (28) In Ma'alim al-Sunan: "mutabayan" (separate/distant). (29) Surah al-Nisa 113. (30) Dropped from: The original. (31) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter 'Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us', from the Book of Prayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/134, 135. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on prayer in the Kaaba, from the Book of Rites. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/466, 467. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the amount of that, from the Book of the Qibla. Al-Mujtaba 2/49. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/113, 138, 6/13. (32) He is Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Hamid; a biography was provided for him in 1/21. The speech is addressed to Imam Ahmad, for he narrated the hadith in the Musnad, and it is not addressed to Ibn Umar.
