All praise is due to Allah:
The conditions of people in the mosque revolve around some situations:
The first situation is when the prayer has already started, and the people are engaged in following the Imam. In this case, there are two opinions:
The first is to greet the people upon entering, the people respond by a gesture. This is supported by the general meaning of the verse “And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]” [Quran 4:86], and some reports that the companions used to greet the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he would respond by a gesture.
The second opinion is not to greet the people but to join the prayer, and this is what our Imams prefer. Our evidence for this is:
– That the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade talking during prayer and greeting, and the effort of responding with a word or gesture is not part of the prayer actions.
– That talking during prayer was initially permissible, but this was abrogated by the Ḥadīth of Ibn Masʽūd, which was reported by the two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhāriy and Muslim) with the following words, “We used to greet the Prophet, peace be upon him, while he was praying, and he would respond to us. But when we returned from Al-Najāshiy, we greeted him, and he did not respond to us, saying, ‘The prayer has its own occupation.’ ” This is also supported by the Ḥadīth of Muʽāwiyah ibn al-Ḥakam.
– That the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade talking during the Friday sermon, which is not an obligatory prayer. So, what about the obligatory prayer?
– It was mentioned in (Ghidhāʼ al-ʼAlbāb Sharḥ Manẓūmat Al-ʼAādāb): “It is disliked to give salutations to a group of people if they are performing ablution, in the restroom, eating, fighting, reciting the Quran, remembering Allāh, saying the talbiyah, narrating Ḥadīths, addressing a sermon, preaching to Allāh, listening to one of the previous things, articulating Fiqh matters, teaching, researching for knowledge, calling out the ʼAdhān, calling out the ʼIqāmah, occupied with their affair, enjoying their spouse, or busy with issuing legal judgements, and so on. Therefore, whoever greets in a situation where it is not recommended to do so, does not deserve a response.”
Some of these examples are supported with Ḥadiths on which the scholars applied analogy to refer to the rest of them.
The second situation is when the prayer has not yet started, and people are engaged in seeking knowledge, attending a lesson, or reading the Quran. In this case, some have said that a person entering the mosque shall give greetings to those present, and they supported this by the general meaning of the verse to which I alluded previously and by the Ḥadīths about promoting greetings of As-Salāmu ʽAlaikum. Others have said that he shall not give greetings to avoid causing disturbance, and they supported this view using analogy based on the Ḥadīth that the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not respond to greetings while he was answering the call of nature or performing ablution. The companion Al-Muhājir ibn Qunfudh reported that he greeted the Prophet, peace be upon him, while he was performing ablution, but the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not respond until he completed his ablution and then responded, saying, ‘I did not refuse to respond to you except that I disliked mentioning Allah except in a state of purity.’ He added: Al-Ḥasan disliked reading or mentioning Allāh until he purifies himself (by performing ablution). This Ḥadīth is authentic according to Shuʽayb al-ʼArnaʼūṭ.
ʽAṭāʼ al-Khurasāniy reported: “women should not give or receive greetings.” Abu Nuʽaym authenticated the previous Ḥadīth in Al-Ḥulyah, but its chain of narrators is disconnected. It is possible that scholars considered greeting women prohibited to close the door against any sedition.
The third situation is when the prayer has not yet started, and people are not engaged in anything but are waiting for the prayer. In this case, greetings are permitted and responding to them is recommended. As for which is prioritized, the performing the prayer of greeting the mosque or greeting the people, in this third situation, the greeting is given priority, as stated in the well-known Ḥadīth of “promote greetings (As-Salāmu ʽAlaykum). Abu Hurayrah reported in Sunan Abī Dawūd: “When one meets their brother, they should give greetings. If there is a tree, a wall, or a rock between them, and then they meet, he should give them greetings.” This is a general principle that is not specified with any other proof concerning the prayer of greeting the mosque.
As for Ibn Al-Qayyim’s argument for giving priority to performing the prayer of greeting the mosque over giving salutations to those in the mosque, based on the Ḥadīth of the man who made mistakes in his prayer. That man prayed first and then gave greetings to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Prophet corrected his prayer without commenting on matter of the greetings. Ibn Rajab rejected this argument as mentioned in Al-Fatḥ: Ibn al-Qayyim argued for giving priority to the greeting of the mosque over the greeting of people without elaboration which is a view that is subject to consideration. Ibn Rajab said: some have used this Ḥadīth to argue that whoever enters the mosque and finds people sitting should begin by performing the prayer of greeting the mosque, then give greetings to the people, beginning with the greeting of the mosque before greeting the people. This is subject to consideration, and this incident was eye-witnessed as the man entered the mosque and prayed in the back close to the door while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was sitting in the front of the mosque. Thus, man had not passed by the people before performing his prayer. Another interpretation to this incident is that the man entered the mosque and walked to a spot near the qiblah away from those sitting in the mosque and prayed there, then walked to the people. The is supported by the following Ḥadīth: “A man entered the mosque and prayed, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was sitting in one part of the mosque, and the man came and gave greetings….” Narrated by Ibn Mājah. As for someone who enters the mosque and passes by people, they should greet them first and then pray. end.
There is an argument that prayer is the right of Allāh, and the greeting of people is the right of the servant, and that the right of Allāh takes precedence over the right of the servant. This argument requires further consideration. This is because the greeting of people is a right shared between Allāh and the servant. This is because whoever greets someone, he performs an act of obedience to Allāh, which is a right for Allāh in submission to His command, and a right for the servant as a means of companionship. Therefore, the precedence goes to the act that fulfills various right over the one that fulfills a single right (i.e., performing the prayer of greeting the mosque).
What remains to be said, from the perspective of debate, is that there are mosques with large courtyards, entrances, corridors, and stairs. Would someone argue that whoever passes through these surrounding areas to enter the prayer area should not greet anyone until he has performed the prayer of greeting the mosque, taking into account that these surrounding areas are a part of the mosque, as evidenced by the fact that whoever is performing ʼIʽtikāf (retreat in a mosque) does not leave the campus of the mosque if he exists in one of these surrounding areas?
After all, Allāh knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālīd Naṣr