What is meant by "Do not precede me in leaving"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
And I wanted to...
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:.
The Shaykh : Leaving means saying the closing salam. Did you understand me?
The questioner : No, Shaykh, no.
The Shaykh : "Do not precede me in leaving by saying the salam" means do not say the salam before I do. It does not mean that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) says the salam, it is obligatory for the people to remain seated until the Messenger (peace be upon him) stands up. This is not an obligatory matter. Rather, if he wishes, he may sit and recite the dhikr, and he will receive, if Allah wills, the reward associated with that dhikr. And if he wishes, he may act as the people did quickly in the story of the Man of Two Hands. Perhaps you remember it?
The questioner : The story of the Man of Two Hands.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am telling you, perhaps you remember it.
The questioner : Yes, I remember it.
The Shaykh : And do you know what the people did quickly?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What did they do?
The questioner : Some left, and some began to talk and speak...
The Shaykh : Ah, you are talking about the warning. The people acted quickly; as soon as the Messenger (peace be upon him) said the salam on the head of the two rak'ahs, having been distracted, the people said the salam with him and left the mosque.
The questioner : That is, we do not blame the one who leaves after the imam says the salam.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the intended meaning. May Allah reward you.
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not precede me in bowing, nor in prostrating, nor in leaving.
لا تسبقوني في الركوع ولا في السجود ولا في الانصرافThe Shaykh : Leaving means saying the closing salam. Did you understand me?
The questioner : No, Shaykh, no.
The Shaykh : "Do not precede me in leaving by saying the salam" means do not say the salam before I do. It does not mean that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) says the salam, it is obligatory for the people to remain seated until the Messenger (peace be upon him) stands up. This is not an obligatory matter. Rather, if he wishes, he may sit and recite the dhikr, and he will receive, if Allah wills, the reward associated with that dhikr. And if he wishes, he may act as the people did quickly in the story of the Man of Two Hands. Perhaps you remember it?
The questioner : The story of the Man of Two Hands.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am telling you, perhaps you remember it.
The questioner : Yes, I remember it.
The Shaykh : And do you know what the people did quickly?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What did they do?
The questioner : Some left, and some began to talk and speak...
The Shaykh : Ah, you are talking about the warning. The people acted quickly; as soon as the Messenger (peace be upon him) said the salam on the head of the two rak'ahs, having been distracted, the people said the salam with him and left the mosque.
The questioner : That is, we do not blame the one who leaves after the imam says the salam.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the intended meaning. May Allah reward you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.