Prohibition on stepping over people who are sitting in the mosque on Friday

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Abu Dawood (1118) and Ibn
Maajah (1115) narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Busr (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: A man came and started stepping over the people one Friday when
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
delivering the khutbah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said to him: “Sit down, for you have annoyed (people).” Classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

In this hadeeth there is
a prohibition on stepping over people when coming to Jumu’ah (Friday)
prayer.

The scholars differed
concerning this matter and there are two views.

1 – That it is makrooh.
This was narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir from the majority. Ibn Hajar said: The
majority are of the view that it is makrooh in the sense that it is better
not to do it. This is the well-known view of the Shaafa’is and is the view
of the Hanbalis.

See: Fath al-Baari,
2/392; Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 2/44; al-Majmoo’, 4/466

Maalik and al-Awzaa’i
limited its being makrooh to when the khateeb is on the minbar, It says in
al-Mudawwanah (1/159): Maalik said: Rather it is makrooh to step over
people when the imam has come out and has sat on the minbar. Whoever steps
over people then is the one of whom the hadeeth speaks. But before that
there is nothing wrong with it if there is a gap in front of him, but he
should be polite in doing that. End quote.

2 – That stepping over
others is haraam in all cases, on Fridays and at other times, because of the
hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Busr (may Allaah be pleased with him) in which he
said: A man came and started stepping over the people one Friday when the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
delivering the khutbah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said to him: “Sit down, for you have annoyed (people).”

Narrated by Abu Dawood,
1118; Ibn Maajah, 1115; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.

Al-Tirmidhi said: This is
what is to be followed according to the scholars. They regarded it as
makrooh for a man to step over people on Friday, and they were very strict
with regard to that. End quote.

This is what a number of
scholars regarded as more likely to be correct, such as Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn
‘Abd al-Barr, al-Nawawi, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, as stated in
al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 81, and others. Among contemporary
scholars who held this view is Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

Ibn al-Mundhir said,
explaining the reason why he said it is haraam: That is because causing
annoyance is haraam, whether it is a little or a lot, and this is causing
annoyance, as it says in the saheeh hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to one whom he saw stepping over
people: “Sit down, for you are causing annoyance.” Al-Majmoo’, 4/467.

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in
al-Tamheed (1/316): The words of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the one who was stepping over people
on a Friday, “You are causing annoyance,” indicate that stepping over people
is an annoyance, and it is not permissible to annoy a Muslim under any
circumstances, on Friday or at any other time.

Al-Nawawi said in
Rawdat al-Taalibeen (11/224): The favoured view is that stepping over
people is haraam, because of the ahaadeeth on this topic.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
said: Stepping over people is haraam during the khutbah and at other times,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
a man whom he saw stepping over people: “Sit down, for you are causing
annoyance.” That is even more forbidden if it happens during the khutbah,
because it is causing annoyance to people and distracting them from
listening to the khutbah, even if he is moving towards a gap. End quote.

Fataawa wa Rasaa’il
al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 16/147.