If one enters the mosque before sunset, when the sun is turning yellow, does he pray the greeting of the mosque?

The questioner : If you enter the mosque before Maghrib and the sun is beginning to turn yellow, do we pray the greeting of the mosque, or do we sit?

The Shaykh : No, you pray the greeting of the mosque before you sit; because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Yes. The sunnahs are divided into two categories: sunnahs that have causes, and sunnahs that do not have causes. The sunnahs that do not have causes fall under the hadith we mentioned , whereas the sunnahs that have causes are excluded from this prohibition. The sunnahs that have causes, such as the greeting of the mosque: you entered the mosque, and your entering the mosque was the cause for praying two rak'ahs. If you do not pray them, they are lost. You performed wudu', and there are two rak'ahs for wudu'; if you do not pray them, they are lost. As for the voluntary prayers, you can pray them whenever you wish because they do not have specific times. But the voluntary prayers that have causes are prayed even in a time of dislike. This is the stronger opinion among the scholars. This is a clear hadith. And the hadith of prohibition that you mentioned, and which we mentioned before this, the scholars say about it that it is a general statement with a specific exception. For example, if a person remembers at the time the sun is turning yellow that he did not pray the Zuhr prayer, he must pray it at that time, the time of dislike. Why? Because these times are prohibited only to prevent increasing the worship and voluntary prayers. Therefore, he said in the previous hadith meaning that you see the sun beginning to set, and you are going to pray two rak'ahs to Allah as a voluntary prayer; this is not permissible. But you entered the mosque and you want to sit; it is not permissible for you to sit until you pray two rak'ahs. Other than what we mentioned just now, if you remember that you have a missed obligatory prayer, you pray it even if the sun is going to set, because this is excluded from the dislike of praying at that time. Yes.

The questioner : Regarding the prayer, for example, I prayed 'Asr, and after 'Asr I remembered that I was not in a state of wudu'. I believe the prayer is void for me, and the congregation is void for me? I mean the reward of the congregation.

The Shaykh : It is all void; what is built upon a defective foundation is defective, so wudu' is necessary and the prayer must be repeated. Yes.