In the prayer of the festivals, is it permissible for a person to pray two rak'ahs before the prayer and upon entering the mosque, whether in 'Id al-Fitr or 'Id al-Adha?
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The questioner : In the prayer of the festivals, is it permissible for a person to pray two rak'ahs before the prayer and upon entering the mosque, whether in 'Id al-Fitr or in 'Id al-Adha? We ask for your guidance.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Praying two rak'ahs upon entering the prayer ground for the two festival prayers or for the prayer for rain is a matter of disagreement among the scholars:
Some of them said: It is disliked to perform voluntary prayer before the prayer and after it in its location. This is the well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). They cited as evidence for this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out for the festival prayer and prayed two rak'ahs, without praying before them or after them.
Some of the scholars say: One should perform voluntary prayer before the prayer and not after it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform voluntary prayer after them. As for before the prayer, there is no prohibition reported regarding it, and the original ruling is permissibility, unless it is in a time of prohibition, such as before the sun has risen the length of a spear. This is a time of prohibition in which it is not permissible for a person to perform voluntary prayer without a specific cause. As for voluntary prayer that has a cause, there is disagreement regarding it, and we will mention it, if Allah wills.
Some of the scholars say: The prayer is not disliked, neither before the prayer nor after it. This is because dislike is a legal ruling that requires legal evidence, and it has not been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prohibited it. However, it is better not to pray before it or after it, except for what has a cause, such as the greeting of the mosque.
This opinion is, in my view, the strongest of the opinions. That is, there is no dislike in praying before it or after it, but it is better not to pray before it or after it in its location, unless it is a time of prohibition, such as before the sun has risen the length of a spear. In that case, prayer is forbidden, except for the greeting of the mosque. That is, if one enters the festival prayer ground, he prays two rak'ahs before sitting, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 1167.
If someone were to say: The festival prayer ground is not a mosque, as evidenced by the fact that it is called a prayer ground and not a mosque?
The answer is that the scholars differ on whether the festival prayer ground is a mosque or not. The well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad is that the festival prayer ground is a mosque, and this is the stronger opinion. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the women to go out for the festival prayer and ordered the menstruating women to stay away from the prayer ground. This indicates that it has the ruling of a mosque, for a thing is judged by its rulings. So, if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the menstruating women to stay away from the festival prayer ground, that is evidence that it is a mosque, since the place from which a menstruating woman is prevented is the mosque.
And if it is established that it is a mosque, then there is no evidence to exclude it from the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 1167. However, with that, one should not disapprove of the one who sat and did not pray two rak'ahs, just as one should not disapprove of the one who prayed two rak'ahs. This is because this issue is one of the matters of disagreement in which independent legal reasoning is permissible, and in matters where independent legal reasoning is permissible, one does not disapprove of anyone who followed one of the opinions, either based on the evidence in his view or based on his trust in the one who held that opinion. However, there is no doubt that the one who prays two rak'ahs upon entering the festival prayer ground is closer to the truth than the one who does not pray.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Praying two rak'ahs upon entering the prayer ground for the two festival prayers or for the prayer for rain is a matter of disagreement among the scholars:
Some of them said: It is disliked to perform voluntary prayer before the prayer and after it in its location. This is the well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). They cited as evidence for this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out for the festival prayer and prayed two rak'ahs, without praying before them or after them.
Some of the scholars say: One should perform voluntary prayer before the prayer and not after it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform voluntary prayer after them. As for before the prayer, there is no prohibition reported regarding it, and the original ruling is permissibility, unless it is in a time of prohibition, such as before the sun has risen the length of a spear. This is a time of prohibition in which it is not permissible for a person to perform voluntary prayer without a specific cause. As for voluntary prayer that has a cause, there is disagreement regarding it, and we will mention it, if Allah wills.
Some of the scholars say: The prayer is not disliked, neither before the prayer nor after it. This is because dislike is a legal ruling that requires legal evidence, and it has not been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prohibited it. However, it is better not to pray before it or after it, except for what has a cause, such as the greeting of the mosque.
This opinion is, in my view, the strongest of the opinions. That is, there is no dislike in praying before it or after it, but it is better not to pray before it or after it in its location, unless it is a time of prohibition, such as before the sun has risen the length of a spear. In that case, prayer is forbidden, except for the greeting of the mosque. That is, if one enters the festival prayer ground, he prays two rak'ahs before sitting, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
If anyone of you enters a Mosque, he should not sit until he has offered a tworak` at prayer.
إذا دخل أحدكم المسجد فلا يجلس حتى يصلي ركعتينIf someone were to say: The festival prayer ground is not a mosque, as evidenced by the fact that it is called a prayer ground and not a mosque?
The answer is that the scholars differ on whether the festival prayer ground is a mosque or not. The well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad is that the festival prayer ground is a mosque, and this is the stronger opinion. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the women to go out for the festival prayer and ordered the menstruating women to stay away from the prayer ground. This indicates that it has the ruling of a mosque, for a thing is judged by its rulings. So, if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the menstruating women to stay away from the festival prayer ground, that is evidence that it is a mosque, since the place from which a menstruating woman is prevented is the mosque.
And if it is established that it is a mosque, then there is no evidence to exclude it from the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):