Is it obligatory to move to a different place in the mosque when I pray? Sometimes a person continues to pray in one place in the mosque, and some people say
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The questioner : Is it obligatory to move to a different place in the mosque when I pray? Sometimes a person continues to pray in one place in the mosque, and some people say: It is obligatory to change places every two rak'ahs after any prayer. Please inform us about this?
The Shaykh : The claim that it is obligatory to change your place of prayer every two rak'ahs has no basis and no support from the Shari'ah. There is no blame on a person for remaining to pray voluntary prayers in one place. The prohibition is against a person settling in a specific place in the mosque and not praying anywhere else; that is what has been prohibited. As for a person who habitually prays in a specific place but also prays in other places, there is no prohibition in that. However, what should also be noted is that some people choose a specific place for the obligatory prayer, even if it is a lesser place. You might find, for example, that he prays in the last row even though he is able to be in the first row, or he prays in the second row even though he is able to pray in the first row. This is undoubtedly a deficiency, because the further forward a person is in the rows, the better it is, and the closer he is to the imam, the better it is. So a person who chooses a place in the last row while there is a place closer to the imam has deprived himself of this virtue. Likewise, the one who chooses a place in the second row even though he can pray in the first row has deprived himself of the virtue of the first row, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Muwatta Malik 3:3 meaning there is no adhan Jami` at-Tirmidhi 225Sahih (Darussalam) Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener is also Ibrahim from Damietta, he says.
The Shaykh : The claim that it is obligatory to change your place of prayer every two rak'ahs has no basis and no support from the Shari'ah. There is no blame on a person for remaining to pray voluntary prayers in one place. The prohibition is against a person settling in a specific place in the mosque and not praying anywhere else; that is what has been prohibited. As for a person who habitually prays in a specific place but also prays in other places, there is no prohibition in that. However, what should also be noted is that some people choose a specific place for the obligatory prayer, even if it is a lesser place. You might find, for example, that he prays in the last row even though he is able to be in the first row, or he prays in the second row even though he is able to pray in the first row. This is undoubtedly a deficiency, because the further forward a person is in the rows, the better it is, and the closer he is to the imam, the better it is. So a person who chooses a place in the last row while there is a place closer to the imam has deprived himself of this virtue. Likewise, the one who chooses a place in the second row even though he can pray in the first row has deprived himself of the virtue of the first row, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If people knew what was in the adhan
لو يعلم الناس ما في النداءand the first row, and they found no other way to get that except drawing lots, then they would draw lots.
والصف الأول ثم لم يجدوا إلا أن يستهموا عليه لاستهمواThe questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener is also Ibrahim from Damietta, he says.