Additional material: Is going to a mosque outside the village to listen to an imam with a beautiful voice or a preacher who gives a sermon considered traveling to other than the three mosques?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And it is sufficient as an honor to travel to it, because it is not permissible to travel to any mosque other than these three mosques.
But if a questioner asked us and said, "There is a mosque in a neighboring village whose imam has good recitation and a beautiful voice. Is it permissible for me to leave my town to go to this village to pray behind him?"
The answer: What?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The answer: It is permissible, yes, it is permissible.
So if someone says, "How is it permissible when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 326Sahih (Darussalam)?" We say: Yes. And this hadith does not indicate a prohibition, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 326Sahih (Darussalam). He did not say "only to three reciters." And I did not travel to the mosque; rather, I traveled to the reciter. If there were a man in this mosque who did not have good recitation, I would not have traveled to him.
Now, if another person said, "Around our village there is a Friday preacher who is a preacher and a jurist, meaning his sermon combines preaching and impact with jurisprudence, and I travel to this mosque for the sake of this preacher's sermon. Is this considered traveling to other than the three mosques?"
No. This is considered traveling for the sake of knowledge or seeking knowledge, because this person came to this mosque and traveled to it for the sake of the knowledge he receives from this preacher. Be careful, everyone, because some people have been confused by the matter and thought that if you go to a mosque outside the town in order to pray behind an imam with good, beautiful recitation, that is traveling, and that is forbidden and not permissible. If you go to this mosque because there is an impactful, knowledgeable preacher, they say: This is traveling to the mosque. But in reality, it is not to the mosque, but to what is presented in the mosque, or to an imam with whom a person feels more at ease than with any other imam.
The student: And the Quba Mosque, O Shaykh...
The Shaykh : One does not travel to the Quba Mosque, because the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) departure from Madinah to Quba was not a journey, and for this reason.
The student: The seven mosques... in Madinah...
The Shaykh : There is no objection. What?
The student: The seven mosques in Madinah.
The Shaykh : I say there is no mosque. The Quba Mosque is the most honorable of the mosques in Madinah after the Prophet's Mosque, and yet one does not travel to it.
And the seven mosques you mention, I do not know what these seven mosques are. What are the seven mosques? What?
The student: O Shaykh, these seven mosques in Madinah are considered among the sites that a visitor should...
The Shaykh : No, that is a mistake.
The student: Even some of the visitors...
The Shaykh : The places visited in Madinah are five: the Prophet's Mosque, the Quba Mosque, the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the graves of his two companions, al-Baqi', and Uhud. Only five. Nothing else in Madinah is visited. Yes.
But if a questioner asked us and said, "There is a mosque in a neighboring village whose imam has good recitation and a beautiful voice. Is it permissible for me to leave my town to go to this village to pray behind him?"
The answer: What?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The answer: It is permissible, yes, it is permissible.
So if someone says, "How is it permissible when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
A mount is not saddled (for a journey) except to three Masajid
لا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجدA mount is not saddled (for a journey) except to three Masajid
لا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجدNow, if another person said, "Around our village there is a Friday preacher who is a preacher and a jurist, meaning his sermon combines preaching and impact with jurisprudence, and I travel to this mosque for the sake of this preacher's sermon. Is this considered traveling to other than the three mosques?"
No. This is considered traveling for the sake of knowledge or seeking knowledge, because this person came to this mosque and traveled to it for the sake of the knowledge he receives from this preacher. Be careful, everyone, because some people have been confused by the matter and thought that if you go to a mosque outside the town in order to pray behind an imam with good, beautiful recitation, that is traveling, and that is forbidden and not permissible. If you go to this mosque because there is an impactful, knowledgeable preacher, they say: This is traveling to the mosque. But in reality, it is not to the mosque, but to what is presented in the mosque, or to an imam with whom a person feels more at ease than with any other imam.
The student: And the Quba Mosque, O Shaykh...
The Shaykh : One does not travel to the Quba Mosque, because the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) departure from Madinah to Quba was not a journey, and for this reason
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to go to Quba on foot
كان النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام يخرج إلى قباء ماشياThe student: The seven mosques... in Madinah...
The Shaykh : There is no objection. What?
The student: The seven mosques in Madinah.
The Shaykh : I say there is no mosque. The Quba Mosque is the most honorable of the mosques in Madinah after the Prophet's Mosque, and yet one does not travel to it.
And the seven mosques you mention, I do not know what these seven mosques are. What are the seven mosques? What?
The student: O Shaykh, these seven mosques in Madinah are considered among the sites that a visitor should...
The Shaykh : No, that is a mistake.
The student: Even some of the visitors...
The Shaykh : The places visited in Madinah are five: the Prophet's Mosque, the Quba Mosque, the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the graves of his two companions, al-Baqi', and Uhud. Only five. Nothing else in Madinah is visited. Yes.