Greeting the mosque takes precedence over seeking knowledge
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
If a person enters the mosque and sees a circle of knowledge, is he permitted to listen to this circle in order to benefit, or must he pray the greeting of the mosque?
No.
He must pray the greeting of the mosque; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the one who entered while the people were being addressed—and the sermon is one of the methods of teaching—to pray two rak'ahs before sitting down.
The questioner: Some people say: If one of you enters the mosque, can he substitute for this by saying: Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, and Allahu Akbar, and then sitting, and this is the greeting of the mosque?The Shaykh: That is not correct.
No.
He must pray the greeting of the mosque; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the one who entered while the people were being addressed—and the sermon is one of the methods of teaching—to pray two rak'ahs before sitting down.
The questioner: Some people say: If one of you enters the mosque, can he substitute for this by saying: Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, and Allahu Akbar, and then sitting, and this is the greeting of the mosque?The Shaykh: That is not correct.