(No prayer in the presence of food) — Is it authentic or weak? And what is its jurisprudence?

The questioner Is it authentic or weak?

The Shaykh: Correct.

The questioner : It is authentic. It mentions young men who are going on a journey on Friday.

The Shaykh : You did not complete your question.

The questioner : Excuse me, which question?

Another questioner : The second one: .

The questioner : ... The hadith is authentic.

The Shaykh : He means he wants to draw attention to the jurisprudence of the hadith.

The questioner : Yes, yes. Some people, when food is placed and the prayer is called for, delay the prayer for the sake of ...

Another questioner : If the food (dinner) and the 'Isha' prayer are both present — for example — then serve the food first.

The questioner : So, in your follow-up, may Allah reward you?

The Shaykh : He is beginning to tell you to direct a question around this point; because you now know that the hadith is authentic; why did you ask about its authenticity or weakness?

The questioner : Just a mere ...

The Shaykh : A legal ruling follows from it; so what is the legal ruling?

The questioner : That there are people in it ...

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : What is the legal ruling?
Abu Malik: Let me ask the question about it, O Shaykh ... He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , the question is: , the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ; so is it invalid or is it not invalid? This is the question that you should direct to the Shaykh so that you know the jurisprudence of the hadith.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Abu Malik: Listen.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Abu Malik: And you as well.

The Shaykh : ... This answer to this question is ... First, the scholars have two opinions regarding this hadith: is the "no" here negating the validity of the prayer, or is it negating the perfection of the validity of the prayer? And this has examples in many of the Prophetic hadiths; because negating validity necessitates the invalidity of the prayer, whereas negating the perfection of validity does not necessitate the invalidity of the prayer; such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ; so does the one who betrays a trust and does not fulfill it become a disbeliever because the hadith says: ?!
The answer is that the legal proofs indicate that faith increases and decreases, and its increase, as is known, is through obedience, and its decrease is through disobedience. So when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , the scholars interpreted this hadith as: no complete faith; meaning: the faith is deficient, but his faith has not departed and his faith has not become invalid. Similarly, the rest of this hadith: ; so is the hadith about which you asked regarding its authenticity, and which was authentic, to be interpreted in light of this interpretation, or is it said: he has no prayer at all; so if one prays in the presence of food or while being urged by the two excretions, is his prayer invalid or is his prayer valid with a decrease in reward?
Most of the scholars and jurists are on this second meaning; that is, the intended negation is the perfection of validity, not the absolute validity. A few of the scholars, and at their head is Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi; because it is known from his school that in most cases he adheres to the apparent meanings of the texts = -- Bismillah -- =; so he holds that whoever prays in the presence of food or while being confined (by the need to relieve himself), his prayer is invalid. But we see the first opinion, not because it is the opinion of the majority; because we are not majoritarians, but rather we follow what appears to us to be correct from what people have differed upon.
There is a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: This is the meaning of the hadith; because I am in doubt about its wording: , so this indicates that the prayer is valid, but the intended meaning of the first hadith is that it is not befitting for the Muslim to engage in prayer while he is holding in his excretions, to engage in prayer while he is eager for food. And here we arrive at some detail that must be built upon the two opinions mentioned earlier; whether we say that the intended meaning is the negation of the prayer absolutely, or we say the negation of the perfection of the validity of the prayer.
= -- Another questioner : Health and wellness, O Shaykh -- = Let us assume now a person who recently ate in his house, then visited a brother of his and food was placed and the prayer was called for; so does his saying (peace be upon him) apply to him; so he is praying in the presence of food? The intended meaning of the presence of food is that he longs for it and desires it. So in this case, either his prayer is invalid according to the opinion of the few, or it is valid but its reward is deficient according to the opinion of the majority. This is the jurisprudence of the hadith.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.