Muwatta Malik 368
موطأ مالك#368Da'ifThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ سَعْدَ بْنَ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ، كَانَ يَمُرُّ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ بَعْضِ الصُّفُوفِ وَالصَّلاَةُ قَائِمَةٌ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَأَنَا أَرَى ذَلِكَ وَاسِعًا إِذَا أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلاَةُ وَبَعْدَ أَنْ يُحْرِمَ الإِمَامُ وَلَمْ يَجِدِ الْمَرْءُ مَدْخَلاً إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ إِلاَّ بَيْنَ الصُّفُوفِ .
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn Abi Waqqas used to pass in front of some of the rows while the prayer was in progress. Malik said, "I consider that it is permissible to do that if the iqama for the prayer has been said and the imam has said the initial takbir and a man cannot find any way into the mosque except by going between the rows
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
In-book reference: 9:43