I say: The Imam’s wording points to the fact that there is no difference, when using a sutrah (prayer screen), between a small mosque and a large one—and that is the correct view. Most worshippers, including the imams of mosques, neglect this in every country I have visited, among them Saudi Arabia, which I was able to tour for the first time in Rajab of this year (1410 AH). Scholars must therefore alert people to this Sunnah, encourage them to practise it, and explain its rulings, making clear that it applies to the two Sacred Mosques as well. (1) Reported by Bukhari, Sahih, 2:454; Muslim, Sahih, 2:55; Abu Dawud, Sunan, 1:109; al-Bayhaqi, Sunan al-Kubra, 2:269; and Ahmad, Musnad, 2:142—from Abd Allah ibn Umar: whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out on the day of ‘Id he ordered that a harbah (short spear) be planted in front of him; he then prayed toward it with the people behind him, and he did the same while travelling. Hence the governors adopted this practice. • Ibn Majah, Sunan, 1:301, records the wording about erecting it during travel; he later gives the full text (1:392). • Al-Nasa’i, 1:232, and Ahmad, 2:145, 151, transmit it with the wording: “He would go out on the day of Fitr carrying a ‘anazah (small spear), plant it before him, and pray toward it.” The isnad is sound according to the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim. • Ibn Majah, through additional chains, adds: “because the musalla (prayer ground) was an open space with nothing to serve as a screen,” and this addition is likewise authentic on their criteria. • The hadith is also found in Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Isma‘ili (cited in Fath al-Bari), and there is a corroborating narration from Anas in Ibn Majah with a sound chain.