If anyone of you is praying behind something that conceals him from people and somebody tries to pass in front of him, he should push him away; if he refuses, the praying person should use force against him for he is a devil
Authentic hadithعن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه مرفوعًا: «إذا صلَّى أَحَدُكُم إلى شيء يَسْتُرُهُ مِنَ النَّاس، فأَرَاد أحَد أن يَجْتَازَ بين يديه، فَلْيَدْفَعْهُ، فإن أبى فَلْيُقَاتِلْهُ؛ فإنما هو شيطان». وفي رواية: «إذا كان أَحَدُكُمْ يُصَلِّي فلا يَدَعْ أحدا يمُرُّ بين يديه، فإنْ أبى فَلْيُقَاتِلْهُ؛ فإن معه القَرِينَ».
Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If anyone of you is praying behind something that conceals him from people and somebody tries to pass in front of him, he should push him away; if he refuses, the praying person should use force against him for he is a devil." Another narration reads: "If anyone of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him; if he refuses then use force, for he has a (devil) companion with him."
Explanation
Before a Muslim starts praying, he can place something in front of him to conceal him from people so that the reward of his prayer is not reduced by their passing in front of him. When he starts communication with his Lord, he should lightly repel anyone who wishes to pass in front of him. If that person is not repelled with ease, this means he has violated the limits and become an aggressor. In this case, it is permissible to push him away and stop his aggression by force. Passing in front of the praying person belongs to the deeds of the devils who wish to spoil people's acts of worship and confuse them during their prayer.
Source · Narrated by Muslim - Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).