to push him away; if he refuses and persists, let him fight him—meaning, be harsh (7) in pushing him away from (8) passing—for he is a devil, meaning his action is the action of a devil, or that a devil is inciting him to do so. It has also been said that the meaning is that a devil is with him. Most of the narrations from Abu 'Abd Allah [Imam Ahmad] are that if the one passing in front of a person praying persists in passing and refuses to turn back, the person praying should be stern in pushing him away and strive to turn him back, as long as this does not lead him to invalidate his prayer by performing too many actions during it. It was also narrated from him that he said: "He should push him away as much as he can, and I dislike fighting during prayer." This is because of what it leads to in terms of discord and the corruption of the prayer. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) only commanded turning him back and pushing him away to protect the prayer from that which diminishes it, so it is known that he did not intend for that which would corrupt and completely cut off the prayer; thus, the wording of "fighting" is interpreted as a more forceful pushing away than the first one. And Allah knows best. Umm Salama narrated: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was praying in the room of Umm Salama, and 'Abd Allah or 'Umar ibn Abi Salama passed in front of him, so he gestured with his hand and he turned back. Then Zaynab, daughter of Umm Salama, passed, and he gestured with his hand like this, and she proceeded. When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) finished praying, he said: "They are more overwhelming." Recorded by Ibn Majah (9). This indicates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not exert himself in pushing [them] away.

Section: It is recommended to turn back whoever passes in front of him, whether an adult or a child, a human or an animal, due to what we have narrated regarding the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) turning back 'Umar and Zaynab while they were young. In the hadith of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, [it is mentioned] that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed facing a wall, having taken it as a qibla while we were behind him. A young lamb came passing in front of him, and he kept pushing it away until his belly pressed against the wall, so it passed behind him (10).