He came riding a jenny, passed in front of part of the row while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was leading his Companions in prayer, then dismounted, left the jenny to graze, and stepped into the row.
He also related (may Allah be pleased with him) that at that time he had almost reached puberty—that is, the age at which he would have been censured had he done anything that spoiled the worshippers’ prayer—yet no one objected to him, neither the Prophet ﷺ nor any of his Companions.
Points extracted from the hadith
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A donkey’s passing in front of someone who is praying neither diminishes the prayer nor invalidates it. The divergent scholarly opinions on this point will be discussed in the next hadith, God willing.
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ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās had reached, or was on the brink of reaching, puberty at the time of the Prophet’s death ﷺ, for this incident took place during the Farewell Pilgrimage, about eighty days before he passed away.
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The Prophet’s tacit approval forms part of his Sunnah, for he would never endorse anything false. His failure to censure Ibn ʿAbbās therefore indicates two things: the validity of the prayer and the fact that Ibn ʿAbbās had done nothing worthy of rebuke.
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Scholars infer from this hadith that the imam’s sutrah (prayer screen) suffices as a screen for those praying behind him. Imām al-Bukhārī devoted a chapter to the point under the title: “The Imam’s Screen Is a Screen for Those Behind Him.”
Hadith Four
ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “I used to lie down in front of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with my legs toward his qiblah; when he prostrated he would nudge me and I would draw in my legs, and when he stood up I would stretch them out again. In those days the houses had no lamps.”
Comprehensive meaning
Whenever ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) heard the report that a donkey, a dog, or a woman cuts off the prayer, she would object and say: “I used to sleep in front of the Prophet ﷺ, and because our house was small my legs would be in his direction. As long as he remained standing…"