Prayer is a connection between a person and his Lord, in which the worshipper stands and converses with his Lord, facing towards Him. Islam enjoins focusing with proper humility (khushu‘) in prayer, and not being distracted, and sets out guidelines concerning that for both the worshipper and the one who is not praying, so that the prayer will not be interrupted and the humble focus (khushu‘) will not be disrupted by the action of either of them. In this hadith, the Tabi‘i Abu Salih as-Samman narrates that Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) was praying one Friday facing towards a sutrah that screened him from passersby, when a young man from the tribe of Banu Abu Mu‘ayt wanted to pass directly in front of him, between him and his sutrah, whilst he was praying. Abu Sa‘id put a hand on his chest to push him back and prevent him from passing directly in front of him, but this young man could not find any other way through which he could go, except this way that was directly in front of Abu Sa‘id. So he tried again to pass in front of him, and Abu Sa‘id pushed him back, harder than he had the first time. That young man got angry with Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him) , and he insulted and reviled him, then the young man went to Marwan ibn al-Hakam al-Umawi, who was the governor of Madinah at that time, and complained to him about what had happened between him and Abu Sa‘id, and how the latter had pushed him in the chest and hurt him. Abu Sa‘id came to Marwan after him, and Marwan said to Abu Sa‘id: What is the matter between you and your brother’s son? – meaning, the son of your brother in Islam – What happened between you and him? Why did you treat him in this harsh manner? Abu Sa‘id replied that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: When one of you prays facing towards something to screen him, such as a wall and the like, and someone wants to pass directly in front of him, let him push him back, and if he refuses and insists, then let him fight him – in other words, it is Islamically prescribed to push him back and prevent him from passing in front of him. So the worshipper should push him back gently, then if he does not stop, he may push him more forcefully, and so on. That does not mean fighting in a real sense. Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained that the one who wants to pass in front of the worshipper is no more than a human devil, for his action is a devilish act. It is only attributed to the Shaytan because interrupting and invalidating acts of worship is something that the Shaytan does. The hadith indicates that it is enjoined to place a sutrah or barrier in front of the worshipper, to prevent anyone from passing directly in front of him. It also indicates that the worshipper may push back the one who wants to pass between him and his sutrah, even if there are crowds of people and there is no other way for the person to pass except by passing directly in front of him. And it indicates that the one who wants to pass in front of one who is praying is like a devil..