Section: If he does not find a sutra, he should draw a line and pray facing it, and that will serve as a substitute for a sutra. Ahmad has explicitly stated this, and Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Awza'i, and others held this view. Malik, al-Layth ibn Sa'd, and Abu Hanifah disapproved of the line. Al-Shafi'i supported the use of the line while in Iraq, but in Egypt, he said: The one praying should not draw a line unless there is a sunnah to be followed regarding it. Our evidence is what Abu Hurayrah narrated, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "If one of you prays, let him place something in front of his face; if he does not find anything, let him set up a staff; if he does not have a staff with him, let him draw a line, then it will not harm him whoever passes in front of him." Recorded by Abu Dawud (39). The Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is more worthy of being followed.

Section: The shape of the line is like a crescent. Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say more than once, when asked about the line: It is like this, horizontally, like a crescent. He said: And I heard Musaddad say: Ibn Dawud said: The line is vertical. He said in the report of al-Athram: They said: Vertically, and they said: Horizontally. And he said: As for me, I prefer this. And he made a circular motion with his finger like an arch. However he draws it, it suffices him, for Hanbal transmitted that he said: If he wishes, he may draw it horizontally, and if he wishes, he may draw it vertically. This is because the hadith is absolute regarding the line, so however he brings it, he has brought the line, and thus it suffices him, and Allah knows best.

Section: If he has a staff with him but cannot set it upright, then al-Athram said: I said to Ahmad: A man has a staff with him but cannot plant it in the ground, so he lays it down in front of him; should he lay it lengthwise or crosswise? He said: No, rather crosswise. Likewise said Sa'id ibn Jubayr and al-Awza'i. Al-Nakha'i disliked it. Our evidence is that this carries the meaning of the line, so it stands in its place, and the desirability of the line has been established by the hadith we have narrated.