The Ruling on the Greeting of the Mosque
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The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (When one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit down until he prays two rak'ahs) Is the command here for obligation or for recommendation?The Shaykh: Is it for prohibition or for dislike?The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Or for obligation?The questioner: For obligation or for prohibition?The Shaykh: No, is it for prohibition or not?Because he said: Not sitting is a prohibition, so is this prohibition for the sake of prohibition? And if it is for the sake of prohibition, then the two rak'ahs become obligatory.
The scholars have differed on this, and the majority of scholars hold that the greeting of the mosque is a recommended practice.
And some of them hold that it is obligatory.
And the opinion of obligation is strong; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon, so a man entered the mosque and sat down,So he said to him: (Have you prayed?He said: No,He said: Get up and pray two rak'ahs, and be moderate in them) The fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) interrupted the sermon and ordered him to stand up and pray, while if he prays he will be occupied with the prayer and thus distracted from listening to the sermon, and listening to the sermon is obligatory, and one is not distracted from an obligation except by an obligation, makes this opinion strong.
But some matters may weaken the opinion of obligation, such as the imam entering on Friday, for he ascends to the pulpit and does not pray.
And such as a person entering the Sacred Mosque for tawaf, for he performs tawaf and does not pray.
And likewise, there are cases whose apparent meaning is that it is not obligatory,For example: The story of Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when Allah accepted his repentance, so he came and entered the mosque, and the people stood up to congratulate him, and the apparent meaning of the story is that he did not pray two rak'ahs.
So this is what weakens the opinion of obligation; because the opinion of obligation is not a mere name for something obligatory or not, the opinion of obligation implies that whoever sits and does not pray is sinful, and establishing sin in the presence of possibility is something in which a person hesitates.
But I say to you, my brothers, as a general piece of advice: When a prohibition is mentioned, avoid it and do not ask: Is it for prohibition or for dislike?And when a command is mentioned, follow it and do not ask: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when the Messenger ordered them to do something, did not say: O Messenger of Allah, did you intend obligation or recommendation? They do it directly, and the truth is that a person is accused when he hears the command of Allah,And His Messenger, then he said: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? My brother! You are commanded to do it,When he hears a prohibition, he says: Is it for dislike or for prohibition? You are commanded to leave it. Yes, if a person is entangled and did not do what was commanded and did not leave what was prohibited,If he is entangled, then at that time we investigate: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? But before that, my advice to every believer when he hears the command of Allah and His Messenger is to say: We hear and obey, and he does it,And when he hears a prohibition, he says: We hear and obey, and he leaves it, and he does not risk himself. And the most submissive people to the command of Allah and His Messenger are the strongest people in faith. [An-Nur:51] So seek success. Then, if you do what is commanded, whether it is obligatory or not, in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, your heart will increase in radiance and your faith in strength, and you will be with the laws of Allah in command and prohibition. But if you become stubborn, is it obligatory or not obligatory! This is a matter that is not permissible. We ask Allah to help us and you in obedience.
The Shaykh: Or for obligation?The questioner: For obligation or for prohibition?The Shaykh: No, is it for prohibition or not?Because he said: Not sitting is a prohibition, so is this prohibition for the sake of prohibition? And if it is for the sake of prohibition, then the two rak'ahs become obligatory.
The scholars have differed on this, and the majority of scholars hold that the greeting of the mosque is a recommended practice.
And some of them hold that it is obligatory.
And the opinion of obligation is strong; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon, so a man entered the mosque and sat down,So he said to him: (Have you prayed?He said: No,He said: Get up and pray two rak'ahs, and be moderate in them) The fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) interrupted the sermon and ordered him to stand up and pray, while if he prays he will be occupied with the prayer and thus distracted from listening to the sermon, and listening to the sermon is obligatory, and one is not distracted from an obligation except by an obligation, makes this opinion strong.
But some matters may weaken the opinion of obligation, such as the imam entering on Friday, for he ascends to the pulpit and does not pray.
And such as a person entering the Sacred Mosque for tawaf, for he performs tawaf and does not pray.
And likewise, there are cases whose apparent meaning is that it is not obligatory,For example: The story of Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when Allah accepted his repentance, so he came and entered the mosque, and the people stood up to congratulate him, and the apparent meaning of the story is that he did not pray two rak'ahs.
So this is what weakens the opinion of obligation; because the opinion of obligation is not a mere name for something obligatory or not, the opinion of obligation implies that whoever sits and does not pray is sinful, and establishing sin in the presence of possibility is something in which a person hesitates.
But I say to you, my brothers, as a general piece of advice: When a prohibition is mentioned, avoid it and do not ask: Is it for prohibition or for dislike?And when a command is mentioned, follow it and do not ask: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when the Messenger ordered them to do something, did not say: O Messenger of Allah, did you intend obligation or recommendation? They do it directly, and the truth is that a person is accused when he hears the command of Allah,And His Messenger, then he said: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? My brother! You are commanded to do it,When he hears a prohibition, he says: Is it for dislike or for prohibition? You are commanded to leave it. Yes, if a person is entangled and did not do what was commanded and did not leave what was prohibited,If he is entangled, then at that time we investigate: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? But before that, my advice to every believer when he hears the command of Allah and His Messenger is to say: We hear and obey, and he does it,And when he hears a prohibition, he says: We hear and obey, and he leaves it, and he does not risk himself. And the most submissive people to the command of Allah and His Messenger are the strongest people in faith.