Is it disliked to perform the greeting of the mosque if a person enters the mosque while the imam is delivering the sermon?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. He says: We have an imam of a mosque who says, "If you find me delivering the Friday sermon, do not pray the greeting of the mosque." But some people do not listen to his words and they pray. He tells them, "Whoever does not listen to my words does not pray; whoever does not listen to my words does not pray." And if he is delivering the sermon and sees someone praying, he says to him, "Sit down, so-and-so." If he does not sit, he repeats it three or four times, and he changes the topic of the sermon because of this. Please guide us regarding this. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
First, it is recommended for the worshippers to hasten to attend the Friday prayer, because this is among the best of deeds: hastening to the Friday prayer is among the best of deeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 881 So the one who comes after the fifth hour has missed the nearness, meaning he has missed the drawing near that carries the virtue. And it varies, as we have heard, according to the variation in hastening to the mosque. As for what the questioner mentioned about the one who enters while the imam is delivering the sermon, some preachers disapprove of the one who prays the greeting of the mosque during the sermon. This is a great error, because this disapproval is contrary to the Sunnah. The established Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that the one who enters while the imam is delivering the sermon does not sit until he prays two rak'ahs.
A man entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon and sat down, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "Stand up and pray two rak'ahs." So the one who enters while the imam is delivering the sermon does not sit until he prays two rak'ahs; this is the Sunnah. And it must be made clear that people should be informed of this. As for the disapproval of this imam, it has no basis, and perhaps he has not looked into the Sunnah reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and what the jurists have mentioned. It is obligatory that a person does not speak in matters of the Shari'ah except with knowledge and understanding, because the error in this is great, and much misguidance of people occurs in it. And it is speaking about Allah the Exalted without knowledge. So it is obligatory for this preacher and those like him not to speak except with knowledge and insight. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
The questioner:
Shaykh Salih, if you would be so kind, I noticed at the end of the message that he says the preacher states that the noble hadith reported specifically on this matter is particular to Sulayk al-Ghatafani. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh:
This is due to his ignorance. He has looked into the hadith, but he spoke about it according to his desire,
The presenter:
and we will review it.
The Shaykh:
And the hadith is not particular to Sulayk al-Ghatafani, but rather it is general: if one enters while the imam is delivering the sermon, he does not sit until he prays two rak'ahs, along with the other hadith which is the basis for the greeting of the mosque. Yes, it was said:Bulugh al-Maram 2:138 However, the prayer of the two rak'ahs during the sermon should be lightened. Yes, he lightens it, because it came in the hadith that he should be brief in them, meaning he lightens them in order to devote himself to listening to the sermon. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you. Shaykh Salih, some of the listening brothers are discussing the fact that listening to the sermon is obligatory and the greeting of the mosque is a recommended practice, and therefore the obligatory must be prioritized over the recommended practice. What is Shaykh Salih's comment?
The Shaykh:
This is a reasoning in opposition to a text, and when reasoning is in opposition to a text, it is not heeded.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you and reward you.
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. He says: We have an imam of a mosque who says, "If you find me delivering the Friday sermon, do not pray the greeting of the mosque." But some people do not listen to his words and they pray. He tells them, "Whoever does not listen to my words does not pray; whoever does not listen to my words does not pray." And if he is delivering the sermon and sees someone praying, he says to him, "Sit down, so-and-so." If he does not sit, he repeats it three or four times, and he changes the topic of the sermon because of this. Please guide us regarding this. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
First, it is recommended for the worshippers to hasten to attend the Friday prayer, because this is among the best of deeds: hastening to the Friday prayer is among the best of deeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever comes in the first hour is as if he has brought a camel, whoever comes in the second hour is as if he has brought a cow, whoever comes in the third hour is as if he has brought a ram
من جاء في الساعة الأولى فكأنما قرب بدنة، من جاء في الساعة الثانية فكأنما قرب بقرة، من جاء في الساعة الثالثة فكأنما قرب كبشاand if one goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour then it is as if
ومن جاء في الساعة الرابعة فكأنما قرب دجاجة، ومن جاء في الساعة الخامسة فكأنماan egg,
قرب بيضة،A man entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon and sat down, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "Stand up and pray two rak'ahs." So the one who enters while the imam is delivering the sermon does not sit until he prays two rak'ahs; this is the Sunnah. And it must be made clear that people should be informed of this. As for the disapproval of this imam, it has no basis, and perhaps he has not looked into the Sunnah reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and what the jurists have mentioned. It is obligatory that a person does not speak in matters of the Shari'ah except with knowledge and understanding, because the error in this is great, and much misguidance of people occurs in it. And it is speaking about Allah the Exalted without knowledge. So it is obligatory for this preacher and those like him not to speak except with knowledge and insight. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
The questioner:
Shaykh Salih, if you would be so kind, I noticed at the end of the message that he says the preacher states that the noble hadith reported specifically on this matter is particular to Sulayk al-Ghatafani. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh:
This is due to his ignorance. He has looked into the hadith, but he spoke about it according to his desire,
The presenter:
and we will review it.
The Shaykh:
And the hadith is not particular to Sulayk al-Ghatafani, but rather it is general: if one enters while the imam is delivering the sermon, he does not sit until he prays two rak'ahs, along with the other hadith which is the basis for the greeting of the mosque. Yes, it was said:
(ﷺ) said: "When one of you enters a mosque, he must not sit until he prays two Rak'ah."
صلى الله عليه وسلم اذا دخل احدكم المسجد فلا يجلس حتى يصلي ركعتينThe presenter:
May Allah bless you. Shaykh Salih, some of the listening brothers are discussing the fact that listening to the sermon is obligatory and the greeting of the mosque is a recommended practice, and therefore the obligatory must be prioritized over the recommended practice. What is Shaykh Salih's comment?
The Shaykh:
This is a reasoning in opposition to a text, and when reasoning is in opposition to a text, it is not heeded.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you and reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تكره تحية المسجد إذا دخل الإنسان المسجد والإمام يخطب؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.