regarding the issue of greeting the worshippers while the imam is delivering the Friday sermon?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Professor, why don't we say that this statement is a matter of combining the Friday sermon and ... .
The Shaykh: The answer has already been given; the situation differs. Here it is an obligatory act and a recommended practice, whereas there it is an obligatory act and an obligatory act, and we stated explicitly: an obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act.
= -- We are recording it with water now -- =
The questioner: Returning the greeting on Friday does not conflict with the ... .
The Shaykh: No, it does conflict. There is no exchanging greetings while the preacher is delivering the sermon, and this matter involves a degree of precision; because it might be said that if it is recommended to greet a worshipper who is engaged in prayer, then it is all the more so to greet one who is sitting listening to the sermon. However, something is said in response to this, which is especially relevant in our time when ignorance of correct Islamic jurisprudence prevails; so if a person enters on Friday while the preacher is delivering the sermon and says: "Peace be upon you," you will hear greetings returned from here and there, whereas in prayer even the most ignorant person knows that there is no talking. So when greetings are exchanged with the sitters listening to the Friday sermon, it will cause commotion, it will cause disturbance, and it will divert the attendees from paying attention to the sermon. And for a certain reason, the Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade saying to one who is speaking: "Be quiet"; because the word alone will divert you from the sermon. Therefore, the ruling differs between the recommendation of greeting the worshipper, because here the greeting is returned by gesture if one does so, and one may not do so, whereas there they will return it verbally. Here lies the problem.
The questioner: ... I think that the worshippers come and join the congregation ... on the silent one.
The Shaykh: Okay; where is the problem?
The questioner: Their returning the greeting: "Peace be upon you."
The Shaykh: Exchanging greetings is not more obligatory than enjoining good and forbidding evil, so if enjoining good and forbidding evil is dropped, then that is dropped all the more so, and were it not for the hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani =
-- No, but I want to change the position of my legs, may Allah reward you with good, sit down please, there is no need. --
= Were it not for the explicit hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani regarding the command for the one entering the mosque on Friday, there would be no room for saying that the greeting is legitimate ... because the best that can be said about the greeting is that it is like enjoining good, so as long as enjoining good is dropped, the greeting is also dropped, but the text came explicitly regarding Friday. In a clearer phrase in a hadith in "the two Sahihs," the Messenger (peace be upon him) was sitting in the mosque when a man from his Companions, known as Abu Qatadah al-Ansari, the guardian of the Messenger (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), entered, so he sat in the circle. He said to him (peace be upon him): . He said "No." He said: . Then he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 1167 . This is a story different from that one, this is the Messenger sitting in the mosque, there is one standing delivering the sermon.
So I repeat and say: Were it not for the hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani, it would not be permissible for us to apply the hadith of Abu Qatadah and use it as evidence regarding the greeting on Friday; because this greeting is like enjoining good, so as long as you said your word: "Be quiet" to him, then your engagement with what is more than the word "Be quiet" should be considered more idle talk; that is when the hadith of Salik came explicit on the subject, and he established it after he sat, then he directed the address to all the sitters; with us here, as it was said:
"If Hudham speaks, then believe her *** For indeed, the truth is what Hudham said."
The Shaykh: The answer has already been given; the situation differs. Here it is an obligatory act and a recommended practice, whereas there it is an obligatory act and an obligatory act, and we stated explicitly: an obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act.
= -- We are recording it with water now -- =
The questioner: Returning the greeting on Friday does not conflict with the ... .
The Shaykh: No, it does conflict. There is no exchanging greetings while the preacher is delivering the sermon, and this matter involves a degree of precision; because it might be said that if it is recommended to greet a worshipper who is engaged in prayer, then it is all the more so to greet one who is sitting listening to the sermon. However, something is said in response to this, which is especially relevant in our time when ignorance of correct Islamic jurisprudence prevails; so if a person enters on Friday while the preacher is delivering the sermon and says: "Peace be upon you," you will hear greetings returned from here and there, whereas in prayer even the most ignorant person knows that there is no talking. So when greetings are exchanged with the sitters listening to the Friday sermon, it will cause commotion, it will cause disturbance, and it will divert the attendees from paying attention to the sermon. And for a certain reason, the Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade saying to one who is speaking: "Be quiet"; because the word alone will divert you from the sermon. Therefore, the ruling differs between the recommendation of greeting the worshipper, because here the greeting is returned by gesture if one does so, and one may not do so, whereas there they will return it verbally. Here lies the problem.
The questioner: ... I think that the worshippers come and join the congregation ... on the silent one.
The Shaykh: Okay; where is the problem?
The questioner: Their returning the greeting: "Peace be upon you."
The Shaykh: Exchanging greetings is not more obligatory than enjoining good and forbidding evil, so if enjoining good and forbidding evil is dropped, then that is dropped all the more so, and were it not for the hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani =
-- No, but I want to change the position of my legs, may Allah reward you with good, sit down please, there is no need. --
= Were it not for the explicit hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani regarding the command for the one entering the mosque on Friday, there would be no room for saying that the greeting is legitimate ... because the best that can be said about the greeting is that it is like enjoining good, so as long as enjoining good is dropped, the greeting is also dropped, but the text came explicitly regarding Friday. In a clearer phrase in a hadith in "the two Sahihs," the Messenger (peace be upon him) was sitting in the mosque when a man from his Companions, known as Abu Qatadah al-Ansari, the guardian of the Messenger (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), entered, so he sat in the circle. He said to him (peace be upon him):
Did you pray?
أصلَّيت ؟Stand up and pray
قُمْ فصلِّIf anyone of you enters a Mosque, he should not sit until he has offered a tworak` at prayer.
إذا دخل أحدُكم المسجد فلا يجلِسْ حتى يصلِّي ركعتينSo I repeat and say: Were it not for the hadith of Salik al-Ghatafani, it would not be permissible for us to apply the hadith of Abu Qatadah and use it as evidence regarding the greeting on Friday; because this greeting is like enjoining good, so as long as you said your word: "Be quiet" to him, then your engagement with what is more than the word "Be quiet" should be considered more idle talk; that is when the hadith of Salik came explicit on the subject, and he established it after he sat, then he directed the address to all the sitters; with us here, as it was said:
"If Hudham speaks, then believe her *** For indeed, the truth is what Hudham said."
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.