It is permissible to miss the congregation to attend to food one craves
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The questioner : If a person is present with food he craves. A hungry man has food served, and the iqamah is called, so he is now between two things: either he goes to the prayer, but his heart is with the food, or he eats the food. Which of these is it? May Allah keep you safe.
The Shaykh : Yes, say: eat the food, then go to the mosque. This is also the case for the one who is served food he craves; he serves it to him so that he can go to the prayer with peace of mind. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who was among the most zealous and careful of people, would hear the iqamah for the prayer and the imam’s prayer while he was eating his supper and would not get up. Now, what is your opinion on this issue? Do we tell you to get up after every two rak'ahs, or not until the shadows?
The questioner : Yes, until it becomes light.
The Shaykh : And for this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: from the food, and not to rush.
The questioner : The goal of the congregation is everything.
The Shaykh : Yes, even if he misses the congregation, even if he misses the congregation. We are now speaking about the excuses for the congregation, about the excuses that drop the obligation of the congregation from a person. This is part of the leniency of the Shari'ah, and the Shari'ah is lenient. But do not make that a habit, meaning it is not permissible for a person to make that a habit, staying in his shop buying and selling, and delaying Maghrib every day, coming to eat his supper. This is not permissible as a habit. But if, for example, the situation forced him to work, meaning it was his habit to go out and eat his supper, then pray Maghrib with the congregation, but one day he is detained, and he comes to find that the supper has been served, he says: make it your supper, and if you catch the congregational prayer, you have caught it, otherwise there is no blame on you.
The Shaykh : Yes, say: eat the food, then go to the mosque. This is also the case for the one who is served food he craves; he serves it to him so that he can go to the prayer with peace of mind. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If supper is served, start with it before the 'Isha' prayer, or before you pray Maghrib.
إذا قدم العشاء فابدؤوا به قبل صلاة العشاء أو قبل أن تصلوا المغرب،The questioner : Yes, until it becomes light.
The Shaykh : And for this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
And not to rush, meaning to relieve himself.
فلا يعجل يعني يقضي حاجتهThe questioner : The goal of the congregation is everything.
The Shaykh : Yes, even if he misses the congregation, even if he misses the congregation. We are now speaking about the excuses for the congregation, about the excuses that drop the obligation of the congregation from a person. This is part of the leniency of the Shari'ah, and the Shari'ah is lenient. But do not make that a habit, meaning it is not permissible for a person to make that a habit, staying in his shop buying and selling, and delaying Maghrib every day, coming to eat his supper. This is not permissible as a habit. But if, for example, the situation forced him to work, meaning it was his habit to go out and eat his supper, then pray Maghrib with the congregation, but one day he is detained, and he comes to find that the supper has been served, he says: make it your supper, and if you catch the congregational prayer, you have caught it, otherwise there is no blame on you.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 195- يجوز التخلف عن الجماعة لحضور طعام يشتهيه II فوائد من الدروس الفقهية من المحاضرات الجامعية — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.