Answer
Salam (Peace) Dear MC,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Indeed there is a prophetic tradition related to this subject and the answer to “why a black dog” is included in it; Abu Dharr said that:
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “When a man performs Salat (prayer), and there is nothing in front of him like the post of a saddle, or a camel saddle, then his Salat is severed by (passing of) a black dog, a woman, or a donkey.” It was said to Abu Dharr: “What is the problem with the black dog rather than the red or white one?” He said:
“O my nephew! I asked Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) just as you have asked me. He said: ‘The black dog is a Shaitan (devil).'” (At-Tirmidhi)
This is talking about a dog that is completely black without a single spot of any other color. Obviously, this will scare a praying person to the point of abandoning his/her prayer.
However, when reading other more authentic traditions we discover that the above tradition is not that authentic after all and I would blame the people who posted such information on how relevant is that when we know that it is almost impossible that a woman, a donkey, or a black dog is going to pass in front of us when we are praying in-doors.
The other point that we can learn from the above hadith if we hold its authenticity is that we should pray behind a marker, such as a wall, column, or even a briefcase. This way people know that they shouldn’t be passing in front of us, and if they do then the following tradition blames them for it; the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“If the person who passes in front of another person in prayer knew the magnitude of his sin he would prefer to wait for 40 (days, months or years) rather than to pass in front of him.” Abu An-Nadr said, “I do not remember exactly whether he said 40 days, months or years.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Now going back to the original subject, we find a very interesting tradition that is very authentic; narrated Aisha, the Prophet’s wife:
The things which annul prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a woman. I said, “You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Note that Sahih Al-Bukhari is the most authentic of traditions. Here we are told that Aisha was in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him) while he was praying, which clearly contradicts the first tradition mentioned above.
However, if we wish to give authenticity to that specific tradition that mentions the woman, the donkey and the black dog, we would assume that those are initially distracting to a praying person.
In Islam, prayer requires a high level of concentration and devotion where a Muslim only does the gestures required in the prayer and doesn’t move in addition to that.
Also a praying Muslim may not talk to others or look around during his/her prayers; the person must look at the prostration spot, so his gaze is down.
Analyzing that tradition further, it is telling us that if a woman, a donkey, a black dog pass in front of a praying man but he has a marker in front of him such as a saddle, then this rule doesn’t apply since the praying person shouldn’t be looking further than his marker as mentioned earlier.
We may conclude that there is really nothing wrong with a woman, a donkey, or a black dog. They are just a form of distraction for someone who is praying.
So what is it then? If we take one by one, we can conclude that the woman must definitely be a woman who is unrelated to the praying man since the Prophet (peace be upon him) did pray when his wife was in front of him.
So a woman, who is not a relative, when passing in front of a praying man would be a distraction since a man is most likely to be attracted to that woman; we read in another tradition that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“I have left behind no trial more tempting to men, than women.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
One might think that not all men would be tempted by a passing woman when praying. However, the rule applies on all in order not to complicate matters.
As for a donkey, I am going to assume that because it is smelly animal that usually steps in its own dunk. Finally, the tradition already explained the reason behind a black dog; Satan is out there to always distract us from any acts of goodness, especially the prayer.
Islam would seem too detailed for the non-Muslim, that’s because everything that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, did, or approved of is documented.
It is also further classified in rank of authenticity, which is meant for Muslim scholars to learn and interpret what is reliable and what is not.
That tradition that we just dissected is of a very low importance since a person may as well redo the prayer if distracted by such rare occasions. It will only take a few minutes to redo the prayer!
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.