Warning against leaving the mosque after the adhan without a valid excuse.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, and may prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri says in his book *Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib*, and in the fourth chapter of the book of prayer in *Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib*: Warning against leaving the mosque after the adhan without a valid excuse.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) cited in this chapter some of the hadiths that serve as the heading for the chapter, and some of them are weak. Since our book is specifically concerned with what is authentic and established, we said: “And it was narrated by:” meaning the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in the other book, number so-and-so. It is not in Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah, except for the phrase: “And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us…” to the end. Here is a note I wrote: “The wording of Muslim will come in the chapter twenty, ‘Warning against missing the congregational prayer.’” There, the authentic wording is: From Abu al-Shu'tha al-Muharibi, who said: “We were sitting in the mosque when the mu'adhdhin called the adhan. A man stood up from the mosque and walked out. Abu Hurayrah followed him with his gaze until he left the mosque. Then Abu Hurayrah said: ‘As for this man, he has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim.’”
Muslim and others narrated it. It was mentioned earlier in *Al-Da'if* with number so-and-so, in the narration of Ahmad. This narration, which is from the portion of *Al-Da'if min al-Targhib*, contains: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us not to leave the mosque after the adhan.” The difference between the authentic narration narrated by Muslim and the weak narration narrated by Ahmad is that in Muslim’s narration from Abu Hurayrah, when he saw the man leave the mosque after the adhan, Abu Hurayrah said: “This man has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim.” As for the weak narration of Ahmad, it contains Abu Hurayrah saying: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us not to leave the mosque.” The difference is in the wording, not in the meaning. This is the first hadith, and it is from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah. The authentic wording is Abu Hurayrah’s statement: “He has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim.”
Then he mentioned other hadiths that support this meaning, and it contains a warning appropriate to the chapter. He said: “And from him—meaning Abu Hurayrah—he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Al-Tabarani narrated it in *Al-Awsat*, and its narrators are relied upon in *Al-Sahih*. Discussing this tracing is not the place for it now. The point is that this hadith clarifies that the one who leaves the mosque after hearing the adhan without a need that compels him to leave is a hypocrite. However, if he leaves out of a need while intending to return to the mosque, this description is removed from him; that is, being a hypocrite. This is because he only left the mosque for a need that pressed upon him to leave. As long as he left intending to return and actually did return, it is not correct to say of him: that he is a hypocrite.
Likewise, the other hadiths he cited after the hadith of Abu Hurayrah. He said: “It was narrated from Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is the same meaning as the first hadith. Therefore, the first hadith testifies to this hadith, and by this consideration, it is authenticated.
Similar to this is also the last hadith in the chapter; which is his statement: From Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
The point is: Between this hadith, which came through several routes and contains the ruling of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and the hadith of Abu Hurayrah where he said: “He has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim,” there is no doubt that everyone to whom it is applied that he is a hypocrite is a sinner. However, not everyone who is a sinner can correctly be called a hypocrite. Therefore, there is a difference between the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and the second narration; which is from the other narrations that came from others (may Allah be pleased with him). They all agree that the one who leaves the mosque after the adhan for other than a need is a hypocrite, unless he left for a need and is intending to return to the mosque. There is no doubt that this ruling issued by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this one who leaves the mosque after the adhan is what the general principles of the Shari'ah require. Because it is established in *Sahih Muslim* from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: “We used to consider the one who hears the call and does not go out to the prayer to be a hypocrite.” There is no difference between this one who did not come to the mosque for the congregational prayer and has no excuse, and this one who attended the mosque, then heard the call and left without intending anything, neither having a need that compelled him to leave, nor intending to return to the mosque to catch the congregational prayer. You have known, if Allah wills, that its ruling is obligatory, and that its virtue is by twenty-seven degrees. So, the one who leaves the mosque is as if he has preferred to abandon this reward and the obedience of Allah and His Messenger in, or in something like His saying (the Exalted): . And at that time, a question usually arises here: Is it permissible for anyone to leave the mosque after the adhan when he has no pressing need; the only thing is that he wants to pray in another mosque?
I recently spoke with some of the brothers while we were coming to this place that the original ruling is that it is not permissible. But sometimes incidental matters arise that necessitate some exception in such a hadith. I gave an example of this: the one who leaves a mosque after the adhan for other than a need, but wants to pray in another mosque; this alone is not considered an excuse. Unlike if he attended a mosque to attend a lesson or knowledge from which he benefits, and barely had he heard the adhan when he went out to the mosque where prayer is better than prayer in the mosque where he attended the lesson. I gave as an example leaving one of the public mosques to the Prophet’s Mosque. In that public mosque, he attended a lesson from which he benefited. So when the adhan was called for prayer, he left to gain the virtue of prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque. In this case and what is similar to it, it can be said that leaving is permissible, and that is from the need to which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) referred. And he added to the need that he intends to return to it. The intended meaning of this intention is that he does not miss the congregational prayer. So if he intends to pray in a mosque that is better than prayer in the mosque where he attended the lesson, what is included in this severe warning; which is describing him as a hypocrite. This is what we see regarding this issue, and Allah knows best.

The questioner : A matter was mentioned to you; and it is the matter of some people going to mosques farther than the mosques nearest to them seeking a good voice. And it was also mentioned to you the hadith: “It is forbidden for a man to follow mosques and to pray in the mosque nearest to him.” And it seems you indicated that the hadith is not authentic, although it may have been mentioned in some of the sources you cited that it is... So we ask for clarification of the statement in this matter?

The Shaykh : We have spoken about this topic after returning to *Sahih al-Targhib* and *Sahih al-Jami'*, and we found the hadith to be hasan (good). This morning here at the home of Abu Khalid, we discussed this issue, and the summary of the matter is: that the intended meaning of the prohibition against following the mosques, and the encouragement to pray in the mosque that is one's neighbor, is to avoid exaggeration in seeking reward due to the distance of the mosque, because that would be an undue burden. I gave some examples of this; among them is the one who intends to perform Hajj by walking on the assumption that the reward is proportional to the hardship. I distinguished between the hardship imposed on the one who is accountable and the hardship that he seeks out himself. The first type is the one for which its owner is rewarded, whereas 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), where he rode on his she-camel. If walking were better, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ... had walked, as is known from his biography (peace and blessings be upon him and his family); then it would not be correct to say here: that the best is to perform Hajj on foot; because the reward is proportional to the hardship. And as came in the hadith of Aisha: , and this was only because it was obligatory upon her when the excuse prescribed for women came to her, which is menstruation. So she was compelled by this occurrence to change her 'Umrah into a standalone Hajj. And when the time came for the Messenger (peace be upon him) to depart from Makkah and he informed his companions of that, and he entered upon his wife Aisha and found her - also - crying, he said: . She said: What is the matter with me? The people - meaning her co-wives - return with a Hajj and an 'Umrah, and I return with a Hajj without an 'Umrah. So he (peace be upon him) ordered her to ride behind her brother 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, and he said to her: .

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : As stated in this source ... because recalling such precise issues where the view fluctuates between authenticating and weakening is not easy, and rather one should return to the source, and we returned and found it confirmed.
Yes.

The questioner : All right; and based on this, if one goes to a farther mosque seeking the beauty of the voice by which he becomes more humble, and not seeking the greater reward in the mosque because it is farther; is there no harm in that?

The Shaykh : Yes, but you added a condition; you said: because it is more humble, whereas the question was about the beauty of the voice, and not about humility. Otherwise, I also mentioned, if it is with the same answer, I said: if one intends another mosque because the prayer there is more complete and perfect and closer to the Sunnah, then that is entirely different. And the following that is prohibited is following the reward of the mosque ... and I mentioned on this occasion the hadith of Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari which came in *Sahih Muslim* that the homes of the Ansar were far from the mosque, so they intended to move to the mosque near his mosque (peace be upon him). When that reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: .
As for a person intentionally making his home far from the mosque because it is more difficult, that is what we deny. As for being far and praying in a place where there is benefit ... and knowledge; that is what we do personally, even before I was afflicted with this knee disease; which prevented me from going down to the mosques in most times. The custom in the Fajr prayer was that we would go and pray every day at Fajr in a place very far away; why? Because the imam who prays in that mosque is one of our brothers from the people of the Sunnah, and his recitation is good, and I would gather the brothers and put them in my car so that the car would be crowded. I had a car before this one, which they call a "station wagon," what do you call it? A bus, so I would fill it ... in the front and the back; seeking this virtue. And in the Fajr prayer, our home is in East Amman, so we go ... in the Friday prayer, that is in the Fajr prayer, we go to West Amman to attend the prayer of one of our Salafi brothers, and his sermon contains knowledge, perhaps you have heard of him, named "Muhammad Shuqara Abu Malik," yes, that is right; so my intention is that this following for something other than a prescribed matter is what is prohibited, whereas anything other than that, setting out to seek knowledge in any place, even if it is far, as you know, does not fall under the generality of his saying (peace be upon him): , so this is approximately like that.