Salafi Research Institute SRI
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Question: If the Sunnah prayers of Fajr have been performed at home, can one pray Tahiyyat al-Masjid after going to the masjid or not? (Arbāz Aḥmad, Jammu Kashmir)
Answer: Sayyidah Ḥafṣah رضي الله عنها states:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِذَا طَلَعَ الْفَجْرُ لَا يُصَلِّي إِلَّا رَكْعَتَيْنِ خَفِيفَتَيْنِ
“When Fajr would begin, Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ would not pray except two light rakʿahs.” (Sahih Muslim: 723)
From this ḥadīth, a group of scholars have taken this to mean that no prayer should be performed between the Sunnah prayers of Fajr and the obligatory prayer. Accordingly, Imām Abū ʿAwānah رحمه الله (D. 316 AH) establishes a chapter heading with these words:
بَيَانُ الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي فِيهِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ، وَالدَّلِيلِ عَلَى أَنَّهُ يُصَلِّي إِذَا انْفَجَرَ الْفَجْرُ إِلَى أَنْ تُقَامَ الصَّلَاةُ، وَأَنَّهُمَا خَفِيفَتَانِ، وَلَا صَلَاةَ بَعْدَ الْفَجْرِ إِلَّا هَاتَانِ الرَّكْعَتَانِ إِلَى أَنْ تُقَامَ الصَّلَاةُ
“The clarification of the time in which the two rakʿahs are prayed before Fajr prayer, and the evidence that one prays them when Fajr breaks until the prayer is established, and that they are two light (rakʿahs), and there is no prayer after Fajr except these two rakʿahs until the prayer is established.” (Musnad Abī ʿAwānah 6/128).
His intent is that from the adhān of Fajr until the Fajr prayer, only the two Sunnah rakʿahs should be performed, and no other prayer besides them. And many scholars and muḥaddithīn have mentioned this under the prohibited times. For example: Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله (D. 458 AH) mentioned this ḥadīth in Al-Sunan al-Ṣaghīr (1/330, H. 939) under “بَابُ السَّاعَاتِ الَّتِي تُكْرَهُ فِيهَا صَلَاةُ التَّطَوُّعِ” “Chapter on the times in which voluntary prayer is disliked”.
Imām al-Baghawī رحمه الله (D. 516 AH) writes after this ḥadīth:
وَهَذَا قَوْلُ عَامَّةِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ كَرِهُوا أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ الرَّجُلُ بَعْدَ طُلُوعِ الْفَجْرِ إِلَّا رَكْعَتِي الْفَجْرِ.
“And this is the view of the majority of the people of knowledge; they disliked that a man should pray after the break of dawn, except for the two rakʿahs (of the sunnah) of Fajr.” (Sharḥ al-Sunnah 3/459)
Meaning, this is the position of the majority of the people of knowledge; they disliked praying any prayer after the break of dawn besides the two Sunnah rakʿahs.
ʿAllāmah al-Zaylaʿī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (D. 762 AH) also mentioned it in “فَصْلٌ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ الْمَكْرُوهَةِ” “Section on the disliked times” (Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/255).
Ḥāfiẓ Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn al-Maqdisī رحمه الله (D. 643 AH) mentioned it in “Al-Sunan wa al-Aḥkām ʿan al-Muṣṭafā ʿalayhi Afḍal al-Ṣalāh wa al-Salām“ under “بَابُ الْأَوْقَاتِ الَّتِيْ نُهِيَ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ فِيْهَا” “Chapter on the times in which prayer is forbidden.”
Some of the people of knowledge consider it permissible to pray nafl (voluntary) prayers without restriction at this time, and their evidence is the ḥadīth from Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1277; Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ) in which Sayyidunā ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah رضي الله عنه asks the Prophet ﷺ, “O Allāh’s Messenger! Which part of the night is most accepted?” He ﷺ replied: “The middle of the last part of the night, so pray as much as you wish. Verily, the angels are present for the prayer and its reward is recorded, until you pray Fajr…” From this, they deduce that nafl prayer can be performed up until ṣalāh al-Fajr, and according to them, the prohibition is not established from the ḥadīth in Sahih Muslim, because it is merely reporting an action (and not an explicit prohibition).
The Stronger Position:
In our view, the stronger position is that no nafl prayer should be performed between the Sunnah of Fajr and the Farḍ prayer. However, Tahiyyat al-Masjid is a prayer due to a reason (Sababi), which is excluded from this prohibition.
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
إِذَا دَخَلَ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَجْلِسَ
“When one of you enters the masjid, he should pray two rakʿahs before he sits down.” (Sahih al-Bukhārī: 444). Also see Sahih Muslim (714, 715, 851, 875) and others.
Therefore, whenever and at whatever time one enters the masjid, Tahiyyat al-Masjid can be prayed. And Allāh knows best what is correct.
[Ḥāfiẓ Nadeem Zaheer حفظه الله, Ustādh al-Ḥadīth in Jāmi’ah Lahore al-Islāmiyyah and founder of al-Ma’rifah institute. Taken from one of his pdfs titled “نماز فجر سے پہلے تحیۃ المسجد”]
Benefit: There’s another proof of this from the salaf…
سَعِيد بْنَ الْمُسَيِّبِ نَظَرَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ صَلَّى بَعْدَ النِّدَاءِ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الصُّبْحِ ، فَأَكْثَرَ الصَّلَاةَ فَحَصَبَهُ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدُكُمْ يَعْلَمُ فَلْيَسْأَلْ ، إِنَّهُ لَا صَلَاةَ بَعْدَ النِّدَاءِ إِلَّا رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَالَ: فَانْصَرَفَ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ ، أَتَخْشَى أَنْ يُعَذِّبُنِيَ اللَّهُ بِكَثْرَةِ الصَّلَاةِ؟ قَالَ: بَلْ أَخْشَى أَنْ يُعَذِّبَكَ اللَّهُ بِتَرْكِ السُّنَّةِ [الفقيه والمتفقه (١/٣٨١) وسنده حسن]
Saʿīd bin al-Musayyib looked at a man who was praying after the Adhan of the morning prayer (Fajr), and he prayed excessively. So he (Saʿīd) threw pebbles at him, then said: “If one of you does not know, then let him ask. Indeed, there is no prayer after the Adhan except for two rakʿahs.” The man turned away and said: “O Abū Muḥammad, do you fear that Allāh will punish me for praying excessively?” He (Saʿīd) said: “Rather, I fear that Allāh will punish you for abandoning the Sunnah.” [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (1/381); Isnād Ḥasan]
