Ruling on praying facing someone

20-11-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamualaikum,Yesterday I was praying maghrib salah in congregation at a musallah. I had to be somewhere pretty quick after prayer ended. I was in the front row praying directly behind the Imam, and after Maghrib ended, the imam turned around to face the people who prayed behind him. i needed to pray my sunnah, but the whole musallah was full so I moved a little to the side but I still started and prayed my 2 rakat sunnah facing him while he was also facing me. I forgot if I was fully facing him or a good portion of him, but I felt weird because my intention of course was to pray and worship Allah but having someone infront of me felt wrong especially in sujood because they faced me. Have I committed a sin or unintentional shirk? My intention was purely for worship to Allah however I am worried that someone being directly infront of me and facing me while I prayed was sinful.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His Slave and Messenger.

Your prayer is valid, and there is no shirk (polytheism) in what you did. This is because you prayed to Allah the Almighty, not to the person in front of you. Therefore, ignore any whispers and do not pay attention to them. Making the praying person a barrier from the direction of his face is disliked by the scholars, but this dislikeability does not invalidate the prayer. Therefore, do not intentionally face a person when praying. The Jurisprudential Encyclopedia reads: “As for praying towards the face of a person, it is disliked by everyone. It is reported from 'Aaishah, may AllAah be pleased with her, that she said: The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to pray in the middle of the bed, and I would be lying down between him and the Qiblah. I would have had a need, but I would dislike getting up and facing him, so I would slip away. It is also narrated that 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, disciplined someone for that”

Allah knows best.

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