Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 932 [Read full issue]
Prayer Breaking
Those among the adherents of hadith who fall short, stop at Traditions without any knowledge of their reality or scope, and then they unconsciously stir up controversy which envelops the entire deen. Take, for example, things which interrupt the prayer. They hold to the hadith which says that the prayer is interrupted by a woman, donkey or black dog passing in front of the person praying. The bulk of fuqaha reject this hadith and find evidence in other hadiths which state that the prayer is not interrupted by anything and that the Messenger, peace be upon him, used to pray with his wife Aisha lying in front of him, just as Ibn Abbas went in front of a group who were praying while riding his donkey and their prayer was not invalidated. White and black dogs are the same.
Shaykh Ahmad Shakir mentioned this matter in his appendix to al-Muhalla of Ibn Hazm in the context of a narrative which says "I heard Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz reporting from Ayyash ibn Abi Rabia who said, 'One day while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was praying with his companions, a donkey passed in front of them. Ayyash exclaimed, 'Glory be to Allah'. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, finished the prayer, he said, 'Which of you said "Glory be to Allah"?' Ayyash answered, 'I did, Messenger of Allah. I heard that donkeys break the prayer.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'Nothing breaks the prayer.'" Ayyash had heard that the presence of a donkey breaks the prayer. Ayyash was one of the earliest Muslims who made the two Emigrations. Then he was forced to remain in Makka and the Messenger of Allah used to make supplication for him in the qunut prayer, as is confirmed in both Sahih collections. He knew the first rulings but then was absent when they were abrogated, and so the Messenger of Allah informed him afterwards that the prayer is not broken by anything.
Compiled From:
"The Sunna of the Prophet" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali