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Barrier (hail)

الحائل

A hail is a barrier. In fiqh the word is used for a screen between the worshipper and one who passes in front, such as a staff or a heap of earth, which is called a sutra. The entry also covers the effect of a barrier on ablution, bathing and touching the Qur'an, and whether a river or a road between the imam and the follower prevents following him in prayer. 1 2 3 4

Depth

At a glance

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Worship and the pillars

Overview

A hail is a barrier; in fiqh, a sutra is the screen between the worshipper and one who passes. 2

Barrier and purity

The Hanafis hold that touching the private part breaks ablution even without a barrier; the entry sets out the rules for ablution, bathing and touching the Qur'an. 3 5

Barrier between imam and follower

Most jurists hold that the follower cannot follow the imam if a large river on which boats travel, or a road on which a cart can pass, lies between them. 4

People and things also explored

The ruling on one who abandons prayer· Ada' (performance of an obligation within its time)· Adhan (the call to prayer: its ruling, wording, conditions, recommended features and the muezzin)· Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation· The adornment of desires and the goods of this world· The people of the bench (ahl al-suffa)· The earth made a place of prayer and purity· Spending in the way of God (infaq)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6696
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6697
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6698
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6700
  5. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6699
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Barrier (hail)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/hail/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

The ruling on one who abandons prayer

Al-Sallabi quotes Ali: whoever does not pray is an unbeliever. He then reports from al-Nawawi the dispute over one who neglects prayer while believing it obligatory: the majority (Malik, al-Shafi'i) hold him a sinner to be asked to repent, others hold him an unbeliever, a view ascribed to Ali; Abu Hanifa and the Kufans hold him not an unbeliever but to be disciplined.