the prayer is only interrupted by three things

the prayer is only interrupted by three things according to the correct scholarly opinion: an adult woman, a black dog and a donkey. This is what is narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he said: “Three things interrupt a man’s prayer [by passing in front of him] if he does not have in front of him something the height of the back of a saddle: a woman, a donkey and a black dog.” It was said: O Messenger of Allah, why black and not red or yellow? He said: “The black dog is a devil.”

taken from http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/147415

can someone explain too me why a woman validates the prayer? the black dog is a devil and the donkey is an ass so does that mean too say that the woman is a devil??

Asalam alaikom sisters

Shahada - have you checked the Fiqh us Sunnah books? They might have more on what breaks the prayer and why.

You didn't mention that the fatwa was given by Sheikh ibn Baz and that there is a lot more explanation given including:

"The Sunnah is for the believer who wants to pray to put something in front of him, such as a chair or a spear that he sticks in the ground, or a wall or pillar that he faces towards when he is praying so that nothing will pass in front of him that could interrupt his prayer. If people are passing beyond his sutrah (screen), that does not affect his prayer. But if they pass in front of him and between him and the sutrah, this is what is not allowed. If the one that passes in front of him is a woman or a donkey or a black dog, his prayer is interrupted. If he has a sutrah and they pass in front of him close to him, this is not allowed. If he does not have a sutrah and they pass close to him, within three cubits or less, then that interrupts his prayer, but if they pass far away, then that does not matter. If they pass in front of him, more than three cubits away, that does not matter, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed inside the Ka‘bah, leaving three cubits between him and the western wall. The scholars quoted this as evidence that this is the maximum distance at which the sutrah should be placed; the sutrah should be three cubits away or less. If the thing passes further away than that, its passing (in front of the worshipper) does not affect his prayer. If there is a sutrah, whatever passes beyond it does not matter. What is meant by interrupting the prayer, as mentioned here, is rendering it invalid. "

And there is even more to that fatawa, so I suggest we ask for an explanation of the hadith and the fatwa, but we need to figure out exactly what to ask and how to ask it (respectfully). We can't use emoticons and the Sheikh is English not Irish so we need to choose our words carefully so that everything is clear. The context that the hadith was originally for might be throw a whole new complexion on the fatawa.

Carima

wasalam,carima,

no i dont think this is something we need to bother the sheik with,i was just wondering why a woman was in the same catagorie as a donkey and a black dog which was described as a devil
i just thought id ask as maybe someone on here might be familiar with this.
i will have a look in fiqh us sunnah inshalah if its not too time consumeing as mondays are very busy for me so im just logging in quickly in passing while i have 5 minutes to rest my feet
carima we really should not bother the sheik with every thing we should leave it for the bigger issues inshalah.

salam alaikom sisters

Shahada the Salah is the difference between the muslims and the disbelievers. It is the first thing we will be asked about in the grave. So I believe it is a very "big issue". There were times I was praying in the mosque and I stopped women from passing in front of me and they got very angry.

I would like to have this hadith explained, and in particular if it is true about the black dog because I have heard otherwise - that a black dog is more LIKELY to be Shaytain. Not that all black dogs ARE shaytains, which the hadith here seems to say.

Normally I am asking for things for other people. This time I would like to ask this question FOR MYSELF. If the Sheikh thinks it's not important he will say so.

Carima

P.S. You can't rely on everything from the internet and maybe this fatwa is not even really by ibn Baz because I have heard instances of people just making things up or telling lies about Islam online to cause confusion among the muslims.

Shadaha, you're not the first one to question this! It is reported in Saheeh al-Bukhari that Aisha, the Prophet's wife (radhi Allahu anha) also questioned this:

Volume 1, Book 9, Number 490

Narrated ‘Aisha: The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, “Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people).” I said, “You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away for I disliked to face him.”

Also in Bukhari, there is another hadith from Aisha related to this:

Volume 1, Book 9, Number 492

Narrated ‘Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, “I used to sleep in front of Allah’s Apostle with my legs opposite his Qibla (facing him); and whenever he prostrated, he pushed my feet and I withdrew them and whenever he stood, I stretched them.” ‘Aisha added, “In those days there were no lamps in the houses.”

Really, we're supposed to attempt to stop anyone who 'passes' in front of us while we are praying. There seems to be a difference between one who is already located in front and one who passes in front. It does also seem pretty clear (to me at least!) that a woman passing closely in front of a man while he's praying would be more distracting to him than if another man passed by.

If you read the full fatwa from Shaykh Ibn Baz it says: "The majority of scholars say that his prayer is interrupted in the sense of being rendered imperfect, but the correct view is that it is interrupted in the sense that he has to repeat it."

I think this 'correct view' takes the side of caution by following a literal understanding of the hadith. While there is some legitimate leeway in the prayer, it is such an important part of Islam. We'd all like to feel sure that our prayers are as correct as possible, so perhaps it is better to stick with the most cautious interpretation.

salamalakum,and thanks for taking time on this for me.carima i looked in the fiqu as sunna and couldnt find anythuing about it ,maybe someone else will have better luck
mmf of course i will obey this rule of course i would never walk in front of my husband when he was praying or anyone else i was just wondering why women break the prayer along with the dog and donkey ,whats the conncetion to the animals.