Those who argue against the obligation of congregational prayer say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade approaching the mosque for one who has eaten garlic and onions. If the congregation were...
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The questioner : ... The issue with the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbidding the eating of garlic and onions is that he said: . If the prayer were obligatory, then eating garlic and onions would be a cause for dropping the obligation, and thus it would be forbidden for that reason.
The Shaykh : Well done. This objection is good on the surface, but in reality, it has no legs. Is traveling in Ramadan permissible or forbidden? And if one travels, does he break his fast or not? He breaks his fast, so traveling is permissible even though it is a means to breaking the fast in the forbidden month of Ramadan. Therefore, if one travels in order to break his fast, it becomes forbidden. Likewise, if one eats onions to drop the congregation, it becomes forbidden. So we say to the one who eats onions: Did you eat it so that you would not pray? If he says yes, we say this is forbidden. And regarding the traveler in Ramadan, we say: Did you travel to break your fast? If he says yes, we say traveling is forbidden. But if he says, "I want to travel for a religious or worldly purpose," and similarly, if the one eating onions says, "I want to eat it for taste or for healing," then there is no harm. When we exempted the one who eats onions from the congregation, it was not as a punishment for him, but to prevent his harm to others. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that by saying:Sahih Muslim 564c, three...
Do not approach our mosque
لا تقربوا مسجدناThe Shaykh : Well done. This objection is good on the surface, but in reality, it has no legs. Is traveling in Ramadan permissible or forbidden? And if one travels, does he break his fast or not? He breaks his fast, so traveling is permissible even though it is a means to breaking the fast in the forbidden month of Ramadan. Therefore, if one travels in order to break his fast, it becomes forbidden. Likewise, if one eats onions to drop the congregation, it becomes forbidden. So we say to the one who eats onions: Did you eat it so that you would not pray? If he says yes, we say this is forbidden. And regarding the traveler in Ramadan, we say: Did you travel to break your fast? If he says yes, we say traveling is forbidden. But if he says, "I want to travel for a religious or worldly purpose," and similarly, if the one eating onions says, "I want to eat it for taste or for healing," then there is no harm. When we exempted the one who eats onions from the congregation, it was not as a punishment for him, but to prevent his harm to others. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that by saying: