The apparent meaning of the author’s words is also that there is no difference between Mecca and elsewhere. This is the correct view. Those who make an exception for Mecca have no proof in the report narrated from the Prophet ﷺ: “He would pray while people passed in front of him, with no sutrah between them.” (2) This hadith contains an unknown narrator, and an unknown narrator is a flaw in a hadith.

Even assuming it is authentic, it is to be understood as referring to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ praying at the edge of the area for circumambulation, while those performing circumambulation have the greatest right to that area, since they have no other place in which to perform it. As for the person praying, he can pray elsewhere; but the one performing circumambulation has no place except around the Ka‘bah, and so has the greater right to it. This is assuming that the hadith is authentic. For this reason, al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH) entitled a chapter in his Sahih: “The Sutrah in Mecca and Elsewhere” (3)—meaning that Mecca and other places are alike.

If someone were to ask: “What is the ruling if the passer overcomes him and passes by?”

The answer is that the sin is upon the passer. As for you, if you have done what the Prophet ﷺ commanded you to do and are unable to prevent this passer from going by, then your prayer is not diminished. But is it invalidated by the passing of a woman?