The Ruling on Eating Onions and Garlic and Abandoning Congregational Prayer

Question:
What is the meaning of the explanation of the hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ? And does the one who eats onions or garlic abandon congregational prayer even if the mosque is close to him? And is he considered sinful for abandoning congregational prayer, or is eating them forbidden?

Answer:
Garlic and onions are permissible, but due to the bad smell in them, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called them among the abominations. The term "abominable" (khabith) is general and is intended to mean the bad thing, as Allah the Exalted said: from among you, meaning the bad thing. Just as it is used for what is forbidden, it is also used for the bad thing and the disliked thing. His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) that "the earnings of the cup-taker are abominable" means that it is lowly, not that it is forbidden, but it is lowly with a degree of baseness. So "abominable" may be intended to mean other than prohibition; it may be intended to mean baseness, or it may be intended to mean dislike only. This includes the smell of onions; the smell of onions is undoubtedly bad and it harms the worshippers. So the one who eats onions does not come to the mosque with the smell of onions on him, because it harms the worshippers and harms the angels. And if he intentionally eats onions in order not to go to the mosque, he is sinful, and he becomes a transgressor against one of the obligations, and he is the cause of that, so he is sinful. And if he attends the mosque, he is sinful because of his harm to the worshippers; he is sinful for that. So a person does not eat onions near the time of prayer, but rather he eats them at a time far from the time of prayer, and then he does the things that remove the smell. And if he avoids them altogether, that is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not eat them unless you cook them thoroughly." So if the onion is cooked, its benefit is obtained and its harm and its annoyance are removed. So when it is cooked, the danger is removed and the benefit is obtained. The conclusion is that he does not come to the mosque and he is sinful because he caused his absence from the mosque, so he is sinful for that.