What is the correct understanding of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Let a man pray in the mosque nearest to him and not follow the mosques”?
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The questioner : He says:The questioner : What is the correct understanding of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): or ?
The Shaykh : It means there is no need to exaggerate in deliberately seeking out distant mosques in order to increase rewards through many steps. Islam, as mentioned in some hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him), where he said: So, if a person lives in a house next to a mosque, he should not prefer praying in a mosque far from him in order to increase his steps to that distant mosque, for this is an exertion that the noble Lawgiver does not permit.
This is exactly like if a man is able to perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred by riding, yet he says: “I want to perform Hajj on foot.” Why? Because the reward is according to the degree of hardship and fatigue. He is told: This is a baseless exertion. Allah may have made riding easy for you, so do not burden yourself with hardship under the claim of exaggerating in reward. For if this had been good, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have performed Hajj riding on his she-camel, but would have performed Hajj on foot, and he was the most worshipful of people. It was even said to him when he stood in night prayer until his feet cracked: “O Messenger of Allah, Allah has forgiven you your past and future sins.” As if they were saying, why do you exhaust yourself when Allah has forgiven you? His response, as you know, was:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 412Sahih (Darussalam)
As some people imagine, and as mentioned in some hadiths that are not authentic, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj on foot. But the reality is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj riding. Therefore, if a person is not able to perform Hajj riding and is able to perform Hajj on foot, it is obligatory for him to perform Hajj, and his reward will be greater than the reward of the rider. But the opposite is not the case, as we mentioned earlier. If a person is able to perform Hajj riding and then exerts himself to perform Hajj on foot out of his desire to increase his reward, he has no increase because he is exerting himself. But the one who does not find a vehicle to ride and performs Hajj on foot, his Hajj in this state is better than the Hajj of the rider, because the reward is according to the degree of hardship, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the story of her menstruation while she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage, where she had intended to combine 'Umrah with Hajj: So she performed all the rituals but did not enter the Ka'bah, the Sacred Mosque, to circumambulate the Ka'bah because the Messenger forbade her. He said: Sunan al-Bayhaqi 4:704 So she performed all the rituals and became pure while she was at 'Arafah, then she completed the rituals and performed the Tawaf of Farewell. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) announced the return of his companions to Madinah, he entered upon her while she was in her tent and found her also crying. Here, while the distance between her residence, which was Saraf, and entering Makkah was only a short distance, she would perform the Tawaf of Arrival and exit the state of ihram, and this is the 'Umrah. But what prevented her from completing the 'Umrah before the Hajj was that she menstruated. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) compensated her by what you heard, ordering her to go to Tan'im and saying to her in this situation: If a person is burdened with a hardship over which he has no control, he is rewarded for it. But if a person exerts himself in hardship on the claim that the reward is according to the degree of hardship, this is an error in understanding the Shari'ah. Therefore, if a person is near a mosque, he should not deliberately go to the distant mosque on the claim that there are more steps and more reward. It is true if the mosque is far from him, but if the mosque is near, he should not exert himself in that manner.
Many people do not distinguish between this and that. The distinction is fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). They are deceived by what came in *Sahih Muslim* that some of the Ansar were in houses far from the Prophet's Mosque, so they wanted to move closer to the mosque to be near it. When this reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said to them: As it came in some authentic hadiths that in every step a good deed is written, a degree is raised, and a sin is erased. But this must be qualified by not exerting oneself. So if a person is far from the mosque, his consolation is this great reward. But if a person is near the mosque, it is not permissible for him to exert himself. This is the justice in this matter. Yes.
Let a man pray in the mosque nearest to him and not follow the mosques
ليصل الرجل في المسجد الذي يليه ولا يتبع المساجدand not follow the mosques
ولا يتتبع المساجدThe Shaykh : It means there is no need to exaggerate in deliberately seeking out distant mosques in order to increase rewards through many steps. Islam, as mentioned in some hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him), where he said:
I and my Ummah are free from strain.
أنا وأمتي براء من التكلفThis is exactly like if a man is able to perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred by riding, yet he says: “I want to perform Hajj on foot.” Why? Because the reward is according to the degree of hardship and fatigue. He is told: This is a baseless exertion. Allah may have made riding easy for you, so do not burden yourself with hardship under the claim of exaggerating in reward. For if this had been good, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have performed Hajj riding on his she-camel, but would have performed Hajj on foot, and he was the most worshipful of people. It was even said to him when he stood in night prayer until his feet cracked: “O Messenger of Allah, Allah has forgiven you your past and future sins.” As if they were saying, why do you exhaust yourself when Allah has forgiven you? His response, as you know, was:
Shouldn't I be a grateful worshipper?
أفلا أكون عبداً شكوراً ؟As some people imagine, and as mentioned in some hadiths that are not authentic, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj on foot. But the reality is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj riding. Therefore, if a person is not able to perform Hajj riding and is able to perform Hajj on foot, it is obligatory for him to perform Hajj, and his reward will be greater than the reward of the rider. But the opposite is not the case, as we mentioned earlier. If a person is able to perform Hajj riding and then exerts himself to perform Hajj on foot out of his desire to increase his reward, he has no increase because he is exerting himself. But the one who does not find a vehicle to ride and performs Hajj on foot, his Hajj in this state is better than the Hajj of the rider, because the reward is according to the degree of hardship, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the story of her menstruation while she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage, where she had intended to combine 'Umrah with Hajj:
When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) descended near Makkah in a place known as Saraf, he entered upon her and found her crying. He said to her: “What is wrong with you? Have you menstruated?” She said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “This is a matter Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam. Do what the pilgrim does, except do not circumambulate and do not pray.”
فلما نزل النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم قريباً من مكة في مكان يعرف بسرف دخل عليها ووجدها تبكي قال لها : ما لك أنفست ؟ قالت: نعم يا رسول الله ، قال: إن هذا أمر كتبه الله على بنات آدم فاصنعي ما يصنع الحاج غير أن لا تطوفي ولا تصليDo what the pilgrim does, except do not circumambulate and do not pray
اصنع ما يصنع الحاج غير أن لا تطوفي ولا تصليHe said to her: “What is wrong with you?” She said: “What is wrong with me? The people are returning with Hajj and 'Umrah, and I am returning with Hajj without 'Umrah.” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: “Go to Tan'im.” He ordered her brother, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, to have her ride behind him on the she-camel, and he said to her: “Your reward—here is the point—is according to your hardship.”
قال لها ما لك ؟ قالت: مالي ؟ ! يعود الناس بحج وعمرة وأعود بحج دون عمرة فقال لها عليه الصلاة والسلام : اذهبي إلى التنعيم وأمر أخاها عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر الصديق أن يردفها خلفه على الناقة وقال لها: إنما أجرك -هنا الشاهد- على قدر نصبكYour reward is only according to your effort.
إنما أجرك على قدر نصبكMany people do not distinguish between this and that. The distinction is fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). They are deceived by what came in *Sahih Muslim* that some of the Ansar were in houses far from the Prophet's Mosque, so they wanted to move closer to the mosque to be near it. When this reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said to them: