Discussion on the ruling regarding the two rak'ahs of greeting the mosque.

The Shaykh : And we affirm this with another derivation. Perhaps you all know what came in *Sahih Muslim* We pause here for a moment to clarify what follows: We find that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cared about greeting the mosque with extreme concern, where he interrupted his sermon and ordered that seated man to stand up after sitting. He ordered him to stand and pray two rak'ahs. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to those sitting in the mosque so that it would not be said, as has been said, "Glory be to Allah, it is as if our Lord had informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or revealed to him that people would come and offer excuses for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) order to Salik to stand up, to present himself to the people as being in need, and that he did not order him to pray because prayer should be prayed even if the preacher is on the pulpit, in order to nullify what may occur and has actually occurred. Indeed, some Hanafi jurists offer an excuse for this order from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Salik al-Ghatafani, stating that he ordered him to stand up because he was poor and in need of clothing.
So, to nullify such an interpretation which is a denial of the indication of the hadith, he (peace and blessings be upon him) directed his speech to the sitters in general and said: This is an address to every person who enters on Friday, that he should not sit even if the preacher is delivering the sermon. This indicates to us something, and it confirms what Ibn Taymiyyah held regarding the specification of a general text by a general text that is not specified.
It clarifies that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) emphasized the order to pray the two rak'ahs while the preacher is delivering the sermon, whereas he forbade enjoining good and forbidding evil while the preacher is delivering the sermon, as you know in the authentic hadith: So, the statement of the one who says, "and the imam is delivering the sermon," is enjoining good, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that, whereas he ordered the greeting. This confirms that the greeting is obligatory according to the stronger opinion in our view, and it is at least a confirmed recommended practice, even in times when prayer is disliked. Here is the point of my speech: It is not permissible for anyone, when the preacher stands to deliver the sermon, to perform voluntary prayers or to pray two rak'ahs, even if it is the greeting of the mosque, if one sits intentionally and then stands intending to pray. In that case, this prayer is not valid, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade enjoining good and forbidding evil, so what is less than that in voluntary matters is more deserving of prohibition. So, when he ordered the greeting of the mosque in this time when voluntary prayer is not prescribed, it means that the greeting of the mosque is prescribed in the times when it is disliked, unlike other voluntary prayers.