Explanation of the Book of Prayer and Its Times-04a
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The reciter: Abdullah ibn Muslimah narrated to us, he said: Ibrahim ibn Sa'd narrated to us from Ibn Shihab from Mahmud ibn al-Rabi' from 'Utbah ibn Malik Sahih al-Bukhari 424.
The Shaykh : His statement "where he wishes or where he is commanded" — the "or" here is not for choice, but for variation. That means, if he is commanded to pray in a specific place, he prays there; otherwise, he prays where he wishes. He should not pry, meaning he should not enter this room and that room and ask, "Where do you want me to pray?" Rather, he should stand until he is given permission, and it is said, "Pray here." If he is not given permission for a specific place, he prays where he wishes, but he should not pry by entering every room, because people do not like their homes to be exposed to people's eyes. Perhaps a story will come in the hadith that follows, which is longer.
The Prophet (ﷺ) came to my house and said, "Where do you like me to pray?" I pointed to a place. The Prophet then said, "Allahu Akbar", and we aligned behind him and he offered a two-rak`at prayer.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أتاه في منزله فقال له: أين تحب أن أصلي لك من بيتك قال: فأشرت له إلى مكان فكبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وصففنا خلفه فصلى ركعتينThe Shaykh : His statement "where he wishes or where he is commanded" — the "or" here is not for choice, but for variation. That means, if he is commanded to pray in a specific place, he prays there; otherwise, he prays where he wishes. He should not pry, meaning he should not enter this room and that room and ask, "Where do you want me to pray?" Rather, he should stand until he is given permission, and it is said, "Pray here." If he is not given permission for a specific place, he prays where he wishes, but he should not pry by entering every room, because people do not like their homes to be exposed to people's eyes. Perhaps a story will come in the hadith that follows, which is longer.