Missing the first congregation to attend the lesson and preferring the second row
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, this questioner says: There are some students of knowledge who strive to attend the lesson at the expense of the first congregation, so they miss it and pray a third congregation in the mosque. Also, some of them prefer the second row to face the Shaykh over the first row. What is your guidance?
The Shaykh:
Repeat the question; I did not understand.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah keep you safe: There are some students of knowledge who strive to attend the lesson at the expense of the first congregation, so they miss it and pray a second congregation in the mosque, as happened with...
The Shaykh:
The door of the first congregation.
The questioner:
Yes, he will miss it.
The Shaykh:
The first congregation, so he misses it.
The questioner:
And he prays a second congregation in the mosque.
The Shaykh:
No, that is not permissible. He prays with the congregation, then goes to the mosque, prays the greeting of the mosque, and sits. He does not miss the congregation and say, "I am going to seek knowledge." He prays with the congregation and then goes, even if he misses the beginning of the lesson; he has done nothing wrong. When he enters the mosque, he prays two rak'ahs, sits, and listens. If he finds that the prayer is being established, he prays.
And when he finishes the prayer, he continues his way to the lesson, even if he misses the beginning of the lesson; he has done nothing wrong. If he wants to be cautious, he leaves early, walking from his home or his place early so that he catches the congregation in the mosque where the lesson is held. Yes.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah keep you safe, in the rest of his question: Also, some of them prefer the second row to face the Shaykh over the first row. Yes.
The Shaykh:
That depends on his intention; we do not know about it. The important thing is that he prays with the congregation and is in the row he sees as best for him. They even said that if the second row is closer to the imam, it is better than the first row where he is far from the imam. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Honorable Shaykh, this questioner says: There are some students of knowledge who strive to attend the lesson at the expense of the first congregation, so they miss it and pray a third congregation in the mosque. Also, some of them prefer the second row to face the Shaykh over the first row. What is your guidance?
The Shaykh:
Repeat the question; I did not understand.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah keep you safe: There are some students of knowledge who strive to attend the lesson at the expense of the first congregation, so they miss it and pray a second congregation in the mosque, as happened with...
The Shaykh:
The door of the first congregation.
The questioner:
Yes, he will miss it.
The Shaykh:
The first congregation, so he misses it.
The questioner:
And he prays a second congregation in the mosque.
The Shaykh:
No, that is not permissible. He prays with the congregation, then goes to the mosque, prays the greeting of the mosque, and sits. He does not miss the congregation and say, "I am going to seek knowledge." He prays with the congregation and then goes, even if he misses the beginning of the lesson; he has done nothing wrong. When he enters the mosque, he prays two rak'ahs, sits, and listens. If he finds that the prayer is being established, he prays.
And when he finishes the prayer, he continues his way to the lesson, even if he misses the beginning of the lesson; he has done nothing wrong. If he wants to be cautious, he leaves early, walking from his home or his place early so that he catches the congregation in the mosque where the lesson is held. Yes.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah keep you safe, in the rest of his question: Also, some of them prefer the second row to face the Shaykh over the first row. Yes.
The Shaykh:
That depends on his intention; we do not know about it. The important thing is that he prays with the congregation and is in the row he sees as best for him. They even said that if the second row is closer to the imam, it is better than the first row where he is far from the imam. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Source
شرح السنة للبربهاري، خطر رد شيء من السنة - سبيل النجاة عند الفتن — islamhouse.com (1:12:16)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.