It was narrated from ‘A’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that she said: I would sleep in front of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and my legs would be in his qiblah. When he prostrated, he would nudge me and I would draw up my legs, and when he stood up, I would stretch them out again. And at that time there were no lamps in our houses..
Commentary :
Prayer is an act of worship that nourishes the soul. In the prayer, the individual stands before his Lord, and he should take measures to help him focus properly and not be distracted whilst praying.
In this hadith, ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she would sleep in front of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and her legs would be in his qiblah; in other words, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would pray tahajjud on the mat on which his wife was sleeping, and she would be sleeping in front of him whilst he was praying, so she was between him and the qiblah. When he prostrated, he would touch her with his hand to alert her to the fact that he wanted to prostrate, so she would draw up her legs so that he could prostrate. Then when he stood up again, she would stretch her legs out again. At that time there were no lights or lamps in the houses, because they had very little in the way of worldly comforts. This indicates that darkness was the reason why she was in front of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) whilst he was praying.
This hadith indicates that a woman does not interrupt or invalidate the prayer of one who is praying in her direction.
It also indicates that a small movement made whilst praying does not invalidate the prayer..