How to reconcile the hadith: (When one of you enters the mosque, he should not sit until he prays) with the hadith: (There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises)?

The questioner : How do we reconcile the two hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), namely his saying:

The Shaykh : ... .
Abu Layla : Let the brother finish his question.

The Shaykh : Repeat your question.

The questioner : How do we reconcile the two hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), namely his saying: and his saying: ?

The Shaykh : Yes, this is an important question and it relates to the principles of jurisprudence.

The questioner : Could you repeat the question for us, Shaykh? We did not hear it.

The Shaykh : How do we reconcile his saying (peace be upon him): and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ? That is, if he enters during one of these two times, how do we reconcile them? I can answer directly, but I want our brother students to learn the knowledge practically, not theoretically. This is done through exchange, questioning, and answering. Right now, there is no prayer after 'Asr and after Fajr, as you know, and there is no blame on you if you say, "I do not know." Is it an absolute general statement? Or a general statement that is specified? Do you know the answer to this question?

The questioner : I do not know.

The Shaykh : I know that this is known.

The questioner : This is a general statement that is specified.

The Shaykh : Okay, the question returns to the first hadith: Is it an absolute general statement? Or a general statement that is specified? Beware of being in my opinion that you do not answer well; I am warning you in advance.

The questioner : It is a general statement that is specified.

The Shaykh : No. What specified it?

The questioner :

The Shaykh : Until he prays two rak'ahs.

The questioner This is an absolute general statement, not a general statement that is specified. As for the first one...

The Shaykh : This is called "achieving the obvious," which is repeating words without benefit. I am asking you: what is the evidence for your second statement?

The questioner : The evidence for my second statement that it is a general statement that is specified?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Yes, a hadith was reported that those who hold this view relied on, and it is the hadith of al-Mutallib regarding tawaf...

The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on al-Bukhari. When he was asked about al-Khidr, whether he is alive or dead, he said: "Whoever refers you to an absent person has not been fair to you." And you refer me to an absent person every hour. The present one is enough for me, my brother. You say what you have; what is the evidence?

The questioner : The hadith "O my son," I do not remember it exactly, but So they said that this diverts this hadith.

The Shaykh : If you would let yourself go of that, this specifies the first hadith.

The questioner : It specifies the first hadith, but... the second hadith.

The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you.

The questioner : Yes, this is an absolute general statement.

The Shaykh : This specifies the first hadith. My question is about the second hadith, which is entering the mosque and not sitting until he prays two rak'ahs. I said it is a general statement that is specified. I am asking you: what is the specifier?

The questioner : What is the specifier is the generality of the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. You forgot what you said just now. (The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, laughs.)

The questioner : Yes, but it is an absolute general statement.

The Shaykh : That means you are going back and forth. It is fine, but I do not like contradiction. However, if one realizes he was wrong and goes back, there is no harm. If we repeat the research now on the basis that his saying (peace be upon him): We now say that it is an absolute general statement, but I see through the veil that you will also abandon what you last resorted to. If you entered the mosque during Fajr prayer and the prayer was being performed, and you had not prayed the Fajr sunnah, and you followed the ruling of his saying (peace be upon him): Will you pray the Fajr sunnah after the salam of the obligatory prayer?

The questioner : I will pray it after the salam of the obligatory prayer.

The Shaykh : And what did you do with his saying: ?

The questioner : This hadith...

The Shaykh : No, tell me: did it remain in its generality and absoluteness?

The questioner : No, I told you this is a general statement that is specified:

The Shaykh : You returned to your first statement.

The questioner : There is no prayer... I told you This is a general statement that is specified. As for the hadith:

The Shaykh : My brother, you said this first, then you went back from it.

The questioner : No, I went back from it in the hadith:

The Shaykh : This is our research in this first hadith: is it an absolute general statement or a general statement that is specified? You said first, correctly, that it is a general statement that is specified. Then when the discussion went around and reached this point, you went back to your statement that it is an absolute general statement. Then when I brought up the example of the pre-Fajr sunnah, you returned to your first statement.

The questioner : It is from the general...

The Shaykh : And this is what I suspected of you, that you would return.

The questioner : No, it is from the general statement that is specified. This hadith. As for the hadith:

The Shaykh : Leave it, my brother. May Allah guide you. We are researching the topic hadith by hadith. Now, are you settled on the fact that the hadith: etc. is an absolute general statement? Or a restricted, specified one?

The questioner : This is a general statement that is specified, evidenced by the fact that prayers of need are removed in these times.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. I am not asking you for the evidence now, but when I ask you for the evidence in another issue, you are stingy with it for us, and when we ask you, you are generous with it for us.
"Sa'd brought them, and Sa'd was wrapped up. This is not how, O Sa'd, you bring in the camels."
Now, we agree that his saying (peace be upon him): is a general statement that is specified, right?

The questioner : Okay.

The Shaykh : Now, a man entered after Fajr and sat in the mosque. Is it permissible for him to sit before he prays the greeting of the mosque? And it came in the second hadith: ?

The questioner : It is permissible for him to pray the greeting before he sits.

The Shaykh : So, if you are now speaking according to the school of al-Nawawi, I give you the permission. It will come to you another issue. Okay, if this text is more general than the first text.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : "He does not sit" is more general than the first text. Okay, when you were asked about the second text and we told you: is it an absolute general statement? Or a general statement that is specified? What was your answer?

Another questioner : At first, you got confused and said that it is a general statement that is specified, then you returned to the statement that it is a general statement that is specified.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. Now, have you reached something? Or shall we summarize the topic for you?

The questioner : No, summarizing is better.

The Shaykh : Summarize. We say the first hadith, as you heard, is a general statement that is specified, meaning some of its details were lifted due to evidence we are not currently addressing. And the example you brought up is sufficient for...The Shaykh : In the Sunnah, the pre-Fajr sunnah. If he entered the mosque and found the imam praying, he does not pray it, but he may pray it after the obligatory prayer. This occurred in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and he approved of the one who prayed and did not object to him. So this was a specifier for his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . Is this clear?

Another questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : There are many other specifiers. We return to the second hadith: This did not enter into any specification at all. And at that point, here is a rule, and this is the most important part of the whole round: if two texts come, each of which is general and they contradict, and we want to reconcile them, we look: whichever one has had specification applied to it, its generality is weakened, and the other one, to which no specification has been applied, remains in its generality. So it is stronger in its general indication than the indication of that specific one. Therefore, the stronger one always prevails over the general one, especially if it is with truth, as we are here. So we specify with the hadith: . Is this clear?

Another questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And what confirms this and follows any sectarian doubt: I said that the man is now speaking within the limits of the Shafi'i school, and his answer is in accordance with the school and in accordance with the jurisprudential rule. But a man of the Hanafi school, for example, might come and argue about this. So we strengthen what was explained earlier with his saying (peace be upon him): . And it is known that enjoining good and forbidding evil, and the preacher is preaching, is not permissible due to the hadith: . This is a well-known hadith. If the Messenger (peace be upon him) commanded the one who enters on Friday, and enjoining good is preferred over voluntary prayer, it is not permissible while the preacher is preaching. And if the Messenger (peace be upon him) commanded the prayer of greeting, it indicates that the prayer of greeting is excluded from being performed in a time of dislike, because the time of the preacher's sermon is a time of dislike for prayer. It is not permissible to pray except the greeting of the mosque. So this confirms the generality of the second hadith that I mentioned earlier. Is this clear?

The questioner : And after 'Asr?

The Shaykh : No difference. All of it is fine. All of it is a time. Before the sun reaches its zenith, there is no time...