I need to know if it is sunnah to walk to mosque.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
as
salaamu alaykum
Dear
brothers
I need
to know if it is sunnah to walk to mosque. I ran to mosque in ramadan in order
to read the sunnah before the actual salaah.I always stop running a distance
before the mosque door in order not to be breathless.I am aware of a HADITH
that teaches not to run in the mosque but I need a quotation of a hadith that
teaches that one should walk to mosque as I heard this before.I thought if one
is late then one should hasten to salaah and that the sunnah prayer counts more
in Ramadan.
Did I
do the wrong thing by not walking to mosque?
jazakallah
khairan
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Answer:
Walk run rush to mosque
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.51a
Topic: Going to the mosque with calm and
dignity
It is preferred for one to walk to the mosque
with calm and dignity and not in a hurry or rush. This is because the person is
considered to be in prayer when he is going to the salah (and also while he is
waiting for it). Abu Qatadah says: "We were praying with the Prophet
(saws) when we heard the clamoring of some men. When they had prayed, the
Prophet (saws) inquired: 'What was the matter with you?' They answered: 'We
were hurrying for the salah.' He (saws) said: 'Do not do that...when you come
to the salah come in peace and calm, and pray what you can with congregation
and complete what you have missed.'"
(Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet (saws)
said: "When you hear the ‘iqamah’, proceed to the prayer with calm and dignity
and do not rush. Pray what you can (with congregation) and complete what you
miss."
Related by Bukhari and Muslim.
Your Question: I
need to know if it is sunnah to walk to mosque.
It is an extremely preferred Sunnah and the guidance of
the Messenger of Allah (saws) that when a believer walks towards a masjid to
offer his prayers, even if the prayer has started, the believers should neither
rush or hurry, but walk in a calm and dignified manner towards their place in
‘salaah’, then pray whatever they can with the congregation and complete what
they have missed. It is expected that
they will receive their full and due reward from their Lord.
Your Question: I thought if one is
late then one should hasten to salaah and that the sunnah prayer counts more in
Ramadan. Did I do the wrong thing by not walking to mosque?
Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) said: "The
prayer of a man in congregation is twenty-seven times more superior (in reward)
to his prayer in his house or market - and this is because he makes the wudu
and perfects it, and goes to the masjid with the sole purpose of performing the
salah. He does not take a step without being raised a degree, and having one of
his sins erased. When he prays, as long as he does not lose his wudu, the
Angels keep on supplicating [for him] 'O Allah, bless him. O Allah, have mercy
on him.' And he is considered in salah as long as he is waiting for the
salah."
Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim,
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws)
said, "If the people knew what (excellence, rewards, etc.) was in the ‘adhan’
and the first row (of the prayer), and that they could not get it save by drawing
lots, they would draw lots! If they knew
the reward for praying the noon prayer early in its time, they would race to
it. And if they knew the reward for the night and the morning prayers in
congregation, they would come to them even if they had to crawl!"
Related by al-Bukhari.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 880 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘If you
were to know what (excellence) lies in the first rows, there would have been
drawing of lots (for filling them).’
The Messenger of Allah (saws) guided the believers to come
as early as possible for their ‘salaah’ in congregation, and strive their
utmost to take their positions in the first rows….for if one only knew the
excellence and rewards and merits of praying the first row behind the imam, the
believers would draw lots to occupy those blessed spaces!
If one is delayed for any reason in attending their
prayers, the Prophet (saws) guided that one approach the masajids in a calm and
dignified manner and neither run nor rush to catch their prayers.
Indeed every act of worship done in Ramadan has more
rewards and merits in the Scales of Allah Subhanah; and if one wishes to avail
them, one should come as early as possible for their prayer….but it would be
severely disliked and discouraged that one run or rush towards the salaah,
whether in Ramadan or at any other time
of the year.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan