The honorable Shaykh, I ask about the authenticity and chain of the hadith that says, “Do not travel except to three mosques.” What is the meaning of this hadith? May you be rewarded.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The honorable Shaykh, I ask about the authenticity and chain of the hadith that says Jami` at-Tirmidhi 326Sahih (Darussalam) What is the meaning of this hadith? May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. This hadith is authentic; al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others among the masters of hadith have narrated it. Its meaning is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade traveling to any mosque other than the three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), and al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine. This is because these three mosques possess a distinction and virtue that no other mosques have. Prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than a thousand prayers in any other place except the Sacred Mosque. Muslim narrated this hadith through another chain with the wording:.
As for the Sacred Mosque, which is the Mosque of the Ka'bah, prayer in it is worth a hundred thousand prayers. Prayer in al-Aqsa Mosque is worth five hundred prayers. This distinction does not apply to other mosques, so one should not travel to them. If one does not travel to mosques—which are the houses of Allah—for the sake of the place itself, except to these three mosques, then it is even more so that one should not travel to graveyards to worship Allah there. And more severe and uglier is for a person to believe that worship around graves or between graves has a distinction over other places.
It should be known that what is forbidden regarding traveling does not include traveling to a town to seek knowledge, to seek a livelihood, or to attend a sermon that is more beneficial than the sermons delivered in one’s own town. This is not traveling to a mosque, but rather traveling for the sake of knowledge. Traveling for the sake of knowledge is a required matter, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 2699a. This issue has become confused for some people; indeed, it has become confused for some people, and they thought that if a man goes from one town to another in order to listen to the imam’s sermon in the mosque he traveled to, he falls under this prohibition. That is not the case. Rather, as I said, this is traveling for the sake of knowledge, and traveling for the sake of knowledge does not fall under what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade regarding traveling to places. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
A mount is not saddled (for a journey) except to three Masajid
لا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجدThe Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. This hadith is authentic; al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others among the masters of hadith have narrated it. Its meaning is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade traveling to any mosque other than the three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), and al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine. This is because these three mosques possess a distinction and virtue that no other mosques have. Prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than a thousand prayers in any other place except the Sacred Mosque. Muslim narrated this hadith through another chain with the wording:
except the Mosque of the Ka'bah
إلا مسجد الكعبةAs for the Sacred Mosque, which is the Mosque of the Ka'bah, prayer in it is worth a hundred thousand prayers. Prayer in al-Aqsa Mosque is worth five hundred prayers. This distinction does not apply to other mosques, so one should not travel to them. If one does not travel to mosques—which are the houses of Allah—for the sake of the place itself, except to these three mosques, then it is even more so that one should not travel to graveyards to worship Allah there. And more severe and uglier is for a person to believe that worship around graves or between graves has a distinction over other places.
It should be known that what is forbidden regarding traveling does not include traveling to a town to seek knowledge, to seek a livelihood, or to attend a sermon that is more beneficial than the sermons delivered in one’s own town. This is not traveling to a mosque, but rather traveling for the sake of knowledge. Traveling for the sake of knowledge is a required matter, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
he who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him
من سلك طريقا يلتمس فيه علما سهّل الله له به طريقا إلى الجنةThe questioner : May Allah bless you.