Greeting of the Sacred Mosque and Tawaf
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Is it permissible for one who enters the Sacred Precinct to pray two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque instead of performing tawaf?
The Shaykh:
As for the one coming from a journey, he begins with tawaf, because the greeting of the Sacred Mosque is tawaf. As for the one who is in Makkah, whether he is a resident or a sojourner, if he comes to the Sacred Mosque to pray or to sit in it, he has a choice: if he wishes, he begins with tawaf, and if he wishes, he prays two rak'ahs and sits to recite the Qur'an, attend lessons of knowledge, or do something else. The resident in Makkah has a choice. As for the one coming from a journey, it is better for him to begin with tawaf, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did.
The questioner:
Perfect.
The Shaykh:
And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his Companions.
Is it permissible for one who enters the Sacred Precinct to pray two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque instead of performing tawaf?
The Shaykh:
As for the one coming from a journey, he begins with tawaf, because the greeting of the Sacred Mosque is tawaf. As for the one who is in Makkah, whether he is a resident or a sojourner, if he comes to the Sacred Mosque to pray or to sit in it, he has a choice: if he wishes, he begins with tawaf, and if he wishes, he prays two rak'ahs and sits to recite the Qur'an, attend lessons of knowledge, or do something else. The resident in Makkah has a choice. As for the one coming from a journey, it is better for him to begin with tawaf, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did.
The questioner:
Perfect.
The Shaykh:
And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his Companions.
Source
شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفرقة الناجية [ القصيدة النونية ] [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من قوله : وهو القوي له القوى جمعا تعالى الله ذو الأكوان والسلطان — islamhouse.com (59:45)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.