• I said to Ahmad: 'What about the hadith of Ibn Abbas where he said: "I arrived at Mina while the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was praying, and I was on a donkey. I let the donkey go, and it passed in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was in prayer," and the hadith of Aishah, who said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would pray while I was lying across between him and the qiblah"; do these not abrogate the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The woman, the donkey, and the dog invalidate the prayer"?' He said: 'As for whether they abrogate it, I do not know, but I hope that the matter is flexible,' and he made it easy regarding it. I said: 'And the black dog?' He leaned towards the view that it invalidates the prayer.
• I heard Ishaq say: 'It has been mentioned from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "Nothing invalidates the prayer except the dog, the donkey, and the woman." And it has been mentioned from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that there is a concession regarding the donkey and the woman, while the matter of the black dog remains; no concession has reached us regarding it. Even Aishah said - after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) -: "Nothing invalidates the prayer except the black dog." And in the hadith of Abu Dharr from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the clarification of that regarding the black dog.'
If a man prays and there is nothing in front of him to serve as a sutrah (barrier), and a black dog passes in front of him, he must repeat the prayer. If he fears the passing of a human or an animal - whichever animal it may be - then he must strive to turn it back, even if he walks towards the qiblah or to its right or to its left; that is better, until the animal passes behind him. For the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) walked for that purpose until he pressed his stomach against the qiblah, and the animal passed behind him.
