Explanation of the Book of the Adhan-05b
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The reciter: And Ibn 'Umar used to have food placed before him, and the iqamah would be called, yet he would not come to the prayer until he had finished, even though he could hear the imam's recitation. Zuhayr and Wahb ibn Uthman narrated from Musa ibn 'Uqbah from Nafi' from Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir narrated it from Wahb ibn Uthman, and Wahb was from Madinah.
The Shaykh : In one copy, it is written "Madinah," and this is the correct analogy. Ibn Malik said:
And I committed to the rule of fa'ila in fa'ili
Now, these hadiths cover the case where food is served to one person or to a group. Accordingly, if you are hosting people and they have arrived, and you have served them dinner or lunch, and the iqamah is called, should you say, "Go, then come back later," or should you say, "Have your lunch or dinner"? The latter is the case, even if they have not started eating; as long as it has been served, let them have their lunch or dinner and then go out to prayer. Some scholars used this hadith and similar ones as evidence for the obligation of khushu' (humility) in prayer. What is khushu'? It is the presence of the heart. They said that prayer is obligatory, and an obligation is not dropped except for another obligation. It is well known that the obligation of congregational prayer was dropped here so that his heart would be empty and present. Those who hold that congregational prayer is not obligatory used these hadiths as evidence, saying that if a person is permitted to remain with his lunch or dinner when it is served or when he has started it, this indicates that it is not obligatory, because an obligation is not dropped except by dire necessity, just as a prohibited act is not permitted except by dire necessity. Now, we have two positions. The first position is the obligation of khushu', and the argument for it is that the obligation was dropped from the person for its sake, and an obligation is not dropped except for an obligation. The second position is that congregational prayer is not obligatory, because if dinner or lunch is served to a person, there is no dire necessity to say, "Remove your necessity." Rather, it concerns his own desire, and this is not a matter of dire necessity. If it were obligatory, it would not be dropped except by dire necessity, just as a prohibited act is not permitted except for dire necessity. We say that this second position is certainly a valid possibility. But when clear, decisive, and explicit texts are brought alongside probable texts, what is obligatory? It is obligatory to interpret the probable in light of the clear, decisive, and explicit. The obligation of congregational prayer has clear, decisive, and explicit texts that cannot be dropped by this possibility. As for those who said that khushu' in prayer is obligatory because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dropped the congregation from those who had dinner in front of him so that their hearts would be present, this is certainly strong. But it is refuted by what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when Shaytan hears the adhan, he turns away with a loud noise, and when the adhan is finished, he turns to the person. Then when the iqamah is called, he turns away, and when the iqamah is finished, he turns to the person and whispers to him, saying, "Remember such and such on such and such a day," until he does not know what he prayed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order the repetition of the prayer in this state. This also refutes the claim that khushu' is obligatory. Rather, it is said that khushu' is very strongly emphasized, and it is not befitting for a person to ever do what contradicts khushu' or what removes khushu'. As for the obligation such that if he did not do it, his prayer would be invalid, there is doubt about that. But many scholars say that if obsessive thoughts (waswas) dominate most of the prayer, the prayer is invalid. What is meant is that if they dominate part of it, most of it, then it is invalid. This leads to the fact that we must try to drive away these obsessive thoughts that come to us in prayer. Yes.
If one of you is eating, he should not hasten until he has satisfied his need from it, even if the iqamah is called
إذا كان أحدكم على الطعام فلا يعجل حتى يقضي حاجته منه وإن أقيمت الصلاةThe Shaykh : In one copy, it is written "Madinah," and this is the correct analogy. Ibn Malik said:
And I committed to the rule of fa'ila in fa'ili
Now, these hadiths cover the case where food is served to one person or to a group. Accordingly, if you are hosting people and they have arrived, and you have served them dinner or lunch, and the iqamah is called, should you say, "Go, then come back later," or should you say, "Have your lunch or dinner"? The latter is the case, even if they have not started eating; as long as it has been served, let them have their lunch or dinner and then go out to prayer. Some scholars used this hadith and similar ones as evidence for the obligation of khushu' (humility) in prayer. What is khushu'? It is the presence of the heart. They said that prayer is obligatory, and an obligation is not dropped except for another obligation. It is well known that the obligation of congregational prayer was dropped here so that his heart would be empty and present. Those who hold that congregational prayer is not obligatory used these hadiths as evidence, saying that if a person is permitted to remain with his lunch or dinner when it is served or when he has started it, this indicates that it is not obligatory, because an obligation is not dropped except by dire necessity, just as a prohibited act is not permitted except by dire necessity. Now, we have two positions. The first position is the obligation of khushu', and the argument for it is that the obligation was dropped from the person for its sake, and an obligation is not dropped except for an obligation. The second position is that congregational prayer is not obligatory, because if dinner or lunch is served to a person, there is no dire necessity to say, "Remove your necessity." Rather, it concerns his own desire, and this is not a matter of dire necessity. If it were obligatory, it would not be dropped except by dire necessity, just as a prohibited act is not permitted except for dire necessity. We say that this second position is certainly a valid possibility. But when clear, decisive, and explicit texts are brought alongside probable texts, what is obligatory? It is obligatory to interpret the probable in light of the clear, decisive, and explicit. The obligation of congregational prayer has clear, decisive, and explicit texts that cannot be dropped by this possibility. As for those who said that khushu' in prayer is obligatory because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dropped the congregation from those who had dinner in front of him so that their hearts would be present, this is certainly strong. But it is refuted by what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when Shaytan hears the adhan, he turns away with a loud noise, and when the adhan is finished, he turns to the person. Then when the iqamah is called, he turns away, and when the iqamah is finished, he turns to the person and whispers to him, saying, "Remember such and such on such and such a day," until he does not know what he prayed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order the repetition of the prayer in this state. This also refutes the claim that khushu' is obligatory. Rather, it is said that khushu' is very strongly emphasized, and it is not befitting for a person to ever do what contradicts khushu' or what removes khushu'. As for the obligation such that if he did not do it, his prayer would be invalid, there is doubt about that. But many scholars say that if obsessive thoughts (waswas) dominate most of the prayer, the prayer is invalid. What is meant is that if they dominate part of it, most of it, then it is invalid. This leads to the fact that we must try to drive away these obsessive thoughts that come to us in prayer. Yes.