The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed the one who is praying alone to have a sutrah in front of him, especially in open spaces, so that no one will pass in front of him and interrupt his prayer. In the case of congregational prayer, if the imam has a sutrah, he is the sutrah for those who are praying behind him. This hadith explains that it is Sunnah for the worshipper to stand close to his sutrah, as Sahl ibn Sa‘d as-Sa‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to pray, leaving a small space between the place where he prostrated and the wall, enough room for a sheep to pass. This indicates that he would be so close to the wall that no human could pass in front of him whilst he was praying, so he would be able to push back anyone who tried to pass in front of him. Abu Dawood narrated from Sahl ibn Abi Hathmah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If one of you prays facing towards a sutrah, let him stand close to it, so that the Shaytaan will not interrupt his prayer.”.