If two general texts conflict, how are they reconciled? For example: the hadith prohibiting prayer at forbidden times, and the hadith commanding the greeting of the mosque.

The Shaykh : Now, if two general texts conflict, how are they reconciled? Al-Hafiz al-Iraqi mentioned in his commentary on the Introduction to the Science of Hadith that the scholars have cited more than a hundred ways of reconciling different hadiths. Among these ways is that if two general texts conflict, one being a general absolute text and the other a general restricted text, the general absolute text is applied to the general restricted text, because the general absolute text is stronger in its indication due to its generality, whereas the generality of the restricted text is limited. Observing this rule opens a wonderful door of knowledge for students of knowledge. Among those who applied this is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and I have not seen this from anyone else, although al-Hafiz al-Iraqi may have alluded to it, and perhaps he quoted it from Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). Now we present to you two general texts from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah that appear to conflict, and the matter is often difficult for some scholars, let alone students of knowledge. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is a conflicting text. He (peace be upon him) said: Two general texts have conflicted. One says do not pray, and the other says do not sit until you pray. How are they reconciled? Ibn Taymiyyah said: The hadith "There is no prayer after Fajr and no prayer after Asr" is a general text that has been specified by many proofs. And I say that there is a very important book by one of the scholars of hadith in India, namely Shams al-Din al-Aziz al-Abadi. The book he wrote is titled *I'lam Ahl al-Asr bi Ahkam Ruk'atay Sunnat al-Fajr* (Informing the People of the Era of the Rulings of the Two Rak'ahs of the Fajr Sunnah). In this book, he mentioned the many specifications of the first hadith, "There is no prayer after Fajr and no prayer after Asr." For example, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): A person remembers a prayer after he has prayed Fajr, so he must pray it at the time he remembers it. What did we do with the statement "There is no prayer after Asr"? We specified it with this hadith. A man enters the mosque and finds the imam entering the prayer, and he has not yet prayed the Fajr Sunnah. When he says the taslim with the imam, he stands and performs the two rak'ahs of the Fajr Sunnah after Fajr. This is contrary to the general meaning of his saying (peace be upon him) "There is no prayer after Fajr." A man who has prayed the Fajr obligatory prayer in one mosque then goes to another mosque and finds them praying, so he must pray with them, repeating the obligatory prayer, which is his saying (peace be upon him): This is a general text that has been specified. And so the application of the general to the specific proceeds. When the generality of a text is weakened by specification, then the general text that has not been specified takes precedence over it by specification. As for the greeting of the mosque, Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) answered with this reconciliation. He said: His saying (peace be upon him) "There is no prayer after Asr or after Fajr" is a general text that has been specified by many specifications, and I have alluded to some of them just now. So when another general hadith comes that contradicts this absolute general text, namely his saying (peace be upon him): And in the other narration: Ibn Taymiyyah says: This hadith specifies the hadith "There is no prayer after Asr and after Fajr," because this hadith has not been specified but has remained in its generality and comprehensiveness from two aspects. The first aspect is that no specification has been applied to it by applying a general hadith to it. The second aspect, which is very important, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) drew the attention of the Muslims to the fact that this generality remains general when the preacher is delivering the Friday sermon, at a time when it is not permissible to command a person sitting to listen to the sermon to do what is right or forbid what is wrong. Yet it was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that he said: He (peace be upon him) commanded these two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque while the preacher is delivering the sermon at a time when commanding good and forbidding evil is obligatory, yet it is not permissible while the preacher is delivering the sermon. So when he commanded the greeting of the mosque while the preacher is delivering the sermon, and forbade saying to a person who is speaking while the preacher is delivering the sermon "Be quiet," and said: Then this confirms that his saying (peace be upon him): Or in the other narration: is evidence that this generality is still in its comprehensiveness and absoluteness. At that point, this general text is applied to the specified general text, which is "There is no prayer after Fajr" and "There is no prayer after Asr." This is a very important rule that removes obstacles and difficulties in reconciling some hadiths that appear to conflict. In this manner, reconciliation is achieved between the saying of Allah the Exalted: This is a general absolute text that has not been specified, and his saying (peace be upon him): This has been specified by the consensus of the majority of scholars. I do not say all the scholars of Islam, but with the majority, there are proofs from the Sunnah. If the majority had contradicted these proofs, we would not have paid attention to their contradiction, because the hadith is explicit and authentic, contrary to those who think it is weak. It is said that if a person comes to the mosque and finds the imam bowing, and he finds him bowing, then he has caught the rak'ah, unlike if he did not catch the bowing but only caught the imam prostrating, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah. This specifies, along with authentic reports from the Salaf, starting from Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and ending with Ibn Umar, that they said: "Whoever catches the bowing with the imam has caught the rak'ah." So at that point, we specify the generality of his saying (peace be upon him): with the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: And the result is as follows: There is no prayer for one who has not recited the Fatihah, except for one who catches the imam bowing, for whom there is prayer. Why? Because we have considered the proofs that establish the validity of this prayer. Also, there is no prayer for one who has not recited the Fatihah, except for one who heard it from the imam. Why? Because He the Exalted says: And because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says: Some scholars say that we reverse the issue and say: We specify the verse with the hadith, and the result in their view is as follows, but this is an error. They say: Allah the Exalted said: Except in the recitation of the Fatihah, it must be recited even if one did not listen or pay attention. That is, they specify the verse with the hadith, contrary to what we mentioned just now. But this is a reversal of what we mentioned just now, and it has become clear to scholars of hadith and fiqh that if a general text is specified, it is not permissible to specify with it a general text that has not been specified. Therefore, the correct view is what we mentioned just now: specifying the hadith with the verse, not specifying the verse with the hadith. And this is sufficient for this issue.
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