You mentioned in a previous discussion the weakness of the hadith: “It is forbidden for a man to follow the mosques, and he should pray in the mosque nearest to him.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The issue was mentioned to you, which is the issue of some people going to mosques farther away than the ones nearest to them in search of a good voice. You were also mentioned the hadith: It seems you indicated that the hadith is not authentic, even though it may have been mentioned in some of the sources you wrote as good. We ask you to clarify the statement on this issue.
The Shaykh : We have spoken about this topic after referring to *Sahih al-Jami'* and we found the hadith to be good. This morning, at Abu Khalid’s house, we discussed this issue, and the summary of the speech is: The intent of the prohibition against following the mosques and the encouragement to pray in the mosque that is one’s neighbor is not to exaggerate in seeking reward due to the distance of the mosque, because that would be an undue burden. I gave some examples of this, such as: the one who intends to perform Hajj by walking on the assumption that the reward is according to the hardship. So I distinguished between the hardship prescribed for the one obligated and the hardship that he seeks out himself. The first hardship is the one for which its owner is rewarded, while the hardship that he imposes on himself is not permissible. I gave as an example the Hajj of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while riding on his she-camel. If walking were better, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was the strongest of men in walking, as is known from his biography (peace and blessings be upon him), it would not be correct to say here: that the better option is to perform Hajj on foot, because the reward is according to the hardship. And as came in the hadith of Aisha: This was only an obligation imposed on her when the excuse prescribed for women, which is menstruation, came to her, so she was compelled by this occurrence to change her 'Umrah to a standalone Hajj. When the time for the Messenger (peace be upon him) to depart from Mecca came and he announced it to his companions, and he entered upon his wife Aisha and found her also crying, he said: What is wrong with you? She said: What is wrong with me? The people, meaning her co-wives, are returning with Hajj and 'Umrah, and I am returning with Hajj without 'Umrah. So he (peace be upon him) ordered her to ride behind her brother 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq and said to her: .
The questioner : Okay, so does it mean from the speech that the hadith is established?
The Shaykh : Yes, according to what is reported in this source. As for if something else becomes apparent to us, I do not know, because recalling such precise issues where the view fluctuates between authentication and weakening is not easy. Rather, one should refer to the source, and we referred to it and found it established.
It is forbidden for a man to follow the mosques, and he should pray in the mosque nearest to him
نهى أن يتتبع الرجل المساجد وليصل في المسجد الذي يليهThe Shaykh : We have spoken about this topic after referring to *Sahih al-Jami'* and we found the hadith to be good. This morning, at Abu Khalid’s house, we discussed this issue, and the summary of the speech is: The intent of the prohibition against following the mosques and the encouragement to pray in the mosque that is one’s neighbor is not to exaggerate in seeking reward due to the distance of the mosque, because that would be an undue burden. I gave some examples of this, such as: the one who intends to perform Hajj by walking on the assumption that the reward is according to the hardship. So I distinguished between the hardship prescribed for the one obligated and the hardship that he seeks out himself. The first hardship is the one for which its owner is rewarded, while the hardship that he imposes on himself is not permissible. I gave as an example the Hajj of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while riding on his she-camel. If walking were better, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was the strongest of men in walking, as is known from his biography (peace and blessings be upon him), it would not be correct to say here: that the better option is to perform Hajj on foot, because the reward is according to the hardship. And as came in the hadith of Aisha:
Your reward is only according to your effort.
إنما أجرك على قدر نصبكYour reward is only according to your effort.
إنما أجرك على قدر نصبكThe questioner : Okay, so does it mean from the speech that the hadith is established?
The Shaykh : Yes, according to what is reported in this source. As for if something else becomes apparent to us, I do not know, because recalling such precise issues where the view fluctuates between authentication and weakening is not easy. Rather, one should refer to the source, and we referred to it and found it established.