Does the hadith "He has succeeded if he is truthful" indicate that the commands other than this are from the category of recommended acts?

The questioner : Many jurists and muftis cite the hadith to override many hadiths that contain legal and Prophetic commands requiring implementation, because the default ruling for commands is obligation. They cite the hadith to argue for the recommendation of that act, or the recommendation of that specific action. There is no doubt that many scholars respond to this by saying that what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He has succeeded if he is truthful," refers to the extent of the commands he reached, and that the religion was completed with other commands. Therefore, whoever knows them must implement them, and they are obligatory, not recommended as they claimed. What do you say about that?

The Shaykh : For example?

The questioner : For example, Shaykh, let us say the greeting of the mosque. They say the greeting of the mosque is a recommended practice (sunnah) because, although it was reported in the form of a command, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the questioner who came with the known obligatory acts , and he would not go beyond that. And so it is in many other issues.

The Shaykh : I do not believe that a scholar would say what I just quoted, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught that questioner everything Allah made obligatory upon him in that session. If so, then citing this hadith is one of the weakest pieces of evidence. However, if we assume the opposite, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him what is individually obligatory in the life of a Muslim, we say that regarding this specific example, which is the greeting of the mosque, the greeting of the mosque is obligatory only for the one who enters the mosque first, and not for the one who enters the prayer area or other places of prayer first. Second, the greeting is obligatory not only for the one who enters the mosque, but for the one who enters and sits in it. So if he enters and does not sit, he does not have to perform the greeting, such as if he enters and leaves; he does not have to perform the greeting, regardless of whether the command here is for obligation. This requires research, and I may address it because I believe it is very important. Regardless of whether this command is for obligation or recommendation, this command is directed at the one who enters the mosque and intends to sit. If he does not intend to sit, this command does not apply to him, because the hadith has two narrations. The first narration is , and the other narration is . So if he does not intend to sit for some reason, like these workers who go to the mosque for work or for some matter and not to sit in it, the command mentioned in the hadith does not apply to them. This is confirmed by the hadith of Abu Qatadah al-Ansari, when he entered the mosque and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with some of his Companions around him. He sat down, and the Prophet said to him , then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said the hadith mentioned earlier. The story of Abu Qatadah is different from the story of Salik al-Ghatafani, and the story of Salik, which we will mention, confirms that the command mentioned in the hadith of the greeting of the mosque is for obligation, not for recommendation. This is because the hadith of Salik, as in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, states that he entered on a Friday while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon, so he sat down. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him , then he turned to the general assembly of those sitting in the mosque and said . This hadith confirms that the greeting of the assembly is obligatory, not just a recommended command. The point of inference in this hadith is to recall another hadith, which is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying . Every jurist knows that the statement of the one who says to his companion on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, "Be silent," is a command to enjoin good. It is also known that enjoining good is obligatory. So if we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dropped this obligation, which is enjoining good, because the imam is delivering the sermon, and conversely, did not drop the obligation of the greeting while the imam is delivering the sermon, this is a very strong indication that the greeting is not dropped and it is not permissible to leave it on the claim that it is recommended. No, that is one thing. Another important thing is that the greeting is prescribed and commanded at all times; we do not exclude the disliked times from it. This is because the absolute voluntary prayer, and the imam delivering the sermon on Friday, is prohibited. So this time should be included with the five times, of which two are derived from the three times. But the jurists followed the practice of making the times five because they relate to the times of prayer. But the truth is that it should be included with these times in terms of the impermissibility of absolute voluntary prayer in them, and in terms of the permissibility, indeed the obligation, of the greeting prayer in them. It should be included when the imam is delivering the sermon on Friday, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded, as you just heard, Salik al-Ghatafani to pray two rak'ahs while the imam is delivering the sermon, while he prohibited saying to your companion, "Be silent." This confirms two things: first, that the greeting of the mosque is obligatory and not just recommended; second, that it is prayed in the disliked times. Much of what falls under the Shafi'i term of "voluntary prayers with causes" includes this, which is the greeting of the mosque. And now we stand for the prayer, if Allah wills.