• Prayers: Crossing the path of a praying person
It is suggested that it is better to stand for forty years than cross the path of a person engaged in prayer. May I ask whether this applies to people offering prayers in the mosques in Makkah and Madinah?
It is strongly recommended that when a person offers his prayers he would put in front of him some sort of a barrier at a point which is a little farther than where he places his head on the ground when he prostrates himself. That barrier could be anything, whether wide or narrow. Even a stick is sufficient. If he has nothing to place in front of him then he may draw a line on the ground to separate his praying place from the surrounding area. When a person has placed such a shield or screen, then anyone who crosses his way beyond it does not have any effect on his prayer.
What you have mentioned is correct. A highly authentic Hadith quotes the Prophet as saying: "Had any person who crosses the path of someone engaged in prayer known what sin he incurs, he will have preferred to stop for forty years rather than cross his path." (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim and others). The Hadith does not specify whether the Prophet meant forty days or forty years. That is immaterial. Another Hadith related by Muslim quotes the Prophet as saying: "It is better for any of you to stand for one hundred years rather than cross the path of his brother when he is engaged in prayer." The Prophet orders his followers to try to prevent anyone who is about to cross their path when they offer their prayer. But if someone crosses the path nevertheless, it does not affect the validity of the prayer itself. [Path of prayer does not extend beyond the point of prostration.]
An exception is made in Makkah, where the requirement of putting a shield or a screen does not apply. That is because of the enormous crowd that gathers in Makkah during pilgrimage and peak Umrah season. If a praying person is required to prevent everyone that intends to cross his path, he would not be able to concentrate on his prayer.
• Prayers: Delayed and the acceptable reasons for delay
If one discovers on waking up that he has had a wet dream, but time is too short to allow taking a shower before sunrise, what should he do?
In such a case, when one wakes up a few minutes before sunrise, he should proceed immediately to get ready for prayers. In the case of having a wet dream or being in the state of ceremonial impurity, he should proceed to remove it by taking a shower. If he must heat the water because it is too cold and he fears for himself, he should proceed to do that.
The important thing is not to waste time in any activity other than getting ready for prayer. Needless to say, if he needs to relieve himself, he should do so. If he busies himself only with getting ready for prayer, it is hoped that Allah would accept his prayer as having been offered on time, although it may take him until the sun has risen before he is fully ready. The point is that the delay was caused by oversleeping and oversleeping is one of two reasons which allow a prayer to be offered after its time-range has lapsed. The other situation is to have forgotten that particular prayer completely.
Due to very heavy work load, I miss my prayers during the day and offer all my prayers in the evening. I call Athan and iqamah for each prayer. Please comment.
Allah describes prayer in the Qur'an as a "time-related duty" which He has made obligatory to the believers. Since it is time-related, it must be offered at the appropriate time appointed for each prayer. I am afraid that a heavy workload does not provide an exemption from offering prayers on time, unless one works for an establishment which actually prevents him from offering prayers. In that case, you should try and find a job somewhere else. On the other hand, if leaving the work in hand in order to offer prayer will result in some damage to the work produced or cause harm to the company because of delayed work, it may be pardonable to delay prayer until one has an opportunity to offer it. [Added: Certain security jobs or some jobs requiring continuous attention to safety of a plant operation may cause delay in prayers, but] This should not be [allowed to become] a daily occurrence.
One should always try to offer prayers on time. In cases of emergency, one may pray Dhuhr and Asr together, and Maghrib and Isha together. Again this should not become a habit. When one offers such prayers together, one calls one Athan for all of them and says an iqamah for each prayer.