except for these two mosques. This is because if prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque were to be preferred over others, one of two things would necessarily follow: either its exclusion from the generality of this hadith, or that its merit of a thousand [prayers] is specifically restricted to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Our argument is that it is one of the mosques to which journeys are undertaken, so it becomes designated by specification in the vow, just like the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). What they have mentioned does not necessarily follow, for if the superior is preferred by a thousand [prayers], the less superior is also preferred by them.
Section: If he vows I'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque, he may not observe I'tikaf in any other, because it is the most superior of them, and because Umar vowed to observe I'tikaf for a night in the Sacred Mosque during the pre-Islamic period (Jahiliyyah), and he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said: "Fulfill your vow." Agreed upon (17). If he vows to observe I'tikaf in the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), it is permissible for him to observe it in the Sacred Mosque because it is superior to it, but it is not permissible for him to observe I'tikaf in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, because the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is superior to it. A group of scholars said: The Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is superior to the Sacred Mosque, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was buried in the best of places, and Allah the Almighty moved him from Makkah to Madinah, which indicates that it is superior. Our argument is the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "A prayer in this mosque of mine (18) is better than a thousand prayers in what is besides it, except the Sacred Mosque." It is narrated in a report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "A prayer in the Sacred Mosque is better than a hundred prayers in what is besides it." Narrated by Ibn Majah (19). Thus, the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is included in its generality, so the prayer in it is better than
= the Book of Hajj (Manasik). Al-Mujtaba 5/168, 169. And Al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on the Virtue of Prayer in the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Al-Darimi 1/330. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/16, 29, 53, 54, 68, 102, 239, 251, 256, 277, 278, 386, 397, 466, 468, 473, 484, 485, 499, 4/5. (17) Its extraction was mentioned previously on page 457. (18) In versions B and M, there is an addition: "this." (19) In: The Chapter on What Has Come Regarding the Virtue of Prayer in the Sacred Mosque..., from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/451.
