The Book of Mosques and Places of Prayer-03b
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The reciter: Amr al-Naqqad, Zuhayr ibn Harb, and Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah informed me, saying: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us from al-Zuhri from Anas ibn Malik from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 353Sahih (Darussalam).
The Shaykh : This is also one of the things that a person is required to relinquish. When the 'Isha' meal arrives, the soul becomes attached to it, desires it, and becomes preoccupied with it to the detriment of prayer. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded that the 'Isha' meal be started before the prayer, even if the iqamah has been called. That is, if the meal is brought and the iqamah is called, eat. Is he allowed to become full? Or does he take only what satisfies his attachment to it?
The first answer means: He is allowed to become full and not stand up until he has satisfied his appetite for it.
In this hadith, there is an indication of the obligation of khushu' (humility) in prayer, which is that a person must be present in heart, with his heart not attached to anything other than the prayer. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation to leave the congregational prayer in order to remove what distracts, and some scholars said: Khushu' is not obligatory, and if waswas (whispers) take over most of the prayer or the entire prayer, the prayer is not invalidated, citing the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The Shaytan comes to a person in his prayer and says to him: Remember such and such on such and such a day, etc." They said this is evidence that his prayer is not invalidated.
In this, there is an indication that what is related to the essence of the act of worship is more deserving of consideration than what is related to an external matter. Here, khushu' in prayer is a matter related to the essence of the worship, and establishing the congregation is a matter external to the essence of the prayer. For this reason, what is related to the essence of the prayer was given consideration and prioritized over what is related to an external matter. This is a known principle among scholars: that what is related to the essence of the worship is more deserving of consideration than what is related to an external matter, whether it is among its attributes, its time, or its place. For this reason, it is forbidden for a person to pray in the presence of food, or while struggling to relieve himself of the two excretions, even if he delays the prayer beyond the beginning of its time. And the scholars said: If a person is performing tawaf and the matter is between ramal (brisk walking) while being far from the Ka'bah, and walking while being close to it, they said that giving consideration to ramal is more important than being close to the Ka'bah.
When supper is present and the Iqamah for Salat has been called, then begin with supper.
إذا حضر العشاء وأقيمت الصلاة فابدؤوا بالعشاءThe Shaykh : This is also one of the things that a person is required to relinquish. When the 'Isha' meal arrives, the soul becomes attached to it, desires it, and becomes preoccupied with it to the detriment of prayer. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded that the 'Isha' meal be started before the prayer, even if the iqamah has been called. That is, if the meal is brought and the iqamah is called, eat. Is he allowed to become full? Or does he take only what satisfies his attachment to it?
The first answer means: He is allowed to become full and not stand up until he has satisfied his appetite for it.
In this hadith, there is an indication of the obligation of khushu' (humility) in prayer, which is that a person must be present in heart, with his heart not attached to anything other than the prayer. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation to leave the congregational prayer in order to remove what distracts, and some scholars said: Khushu' is not obligatory, and if waswas (whispers) take over most of the prayer or the entire prayer, the prayer is not invalidated, citing the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The Shaytan comes to a person in his prayer and says to him: Remember such and such on such and such a day, etc." They said this is evidence that his prayer is not invalidated.
In this, there is an indication that what is related to the essence of the act of worship is more deserving of consideration than what is related to an external matter. Here, khushu' in prayer is a matter related to the essence of the worship, and establishing the congregation is a matter external to the essence of the prayer. For this reason, what is related to the essence of the prayer was given consideration and prioritized over what is related to an external matter. This is a known principle among scholars: that what is related to the essence of the worship is more deserving of consideration than what is related to an external matter, whether it is among its attributes, its time, or its place. For this reason, it is forbidden for a person to pray in the presence of food, or while struggling to relieve himself of the two excretions, even if he delays the prayer beyond the beginning of its time. And the scholars said: If a person is performing tawaf and the matter is between ramal (brisk walking) while being far from the Ka'bah, and walking while being close to it, they said that giving consideration to ramal is more important than being close to the Ka'bah.