for my portion of Your bounty.' Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (21).
He should not sit down until he has performed two rak'ahs, due to what Abu Qatadah narrated, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "When one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit until he performs two rak'ahs." Agreed upon (22). Then he sits facing the Qiblah, and he occupies himself with the remembrance of Allah the Almighty, or by reading the Quran, or he remains silent. He should not engage in worldly talk, nor should he interlace his fingers, due to what Abu Sa'id narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he said: "If one of you is in the mosque, let him not interlace his fingers; for interlacing is from the Shaytan, and one of you remains in a state of prayer as long as he is in the mosque, until he leaves it." Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (23).
Section: If the prayer is commenced (iqamah is called), he should not occupy himself with a supererogatory prayer (nafilah) during it, regardless of whether he fears missing the first rak'ah or not. This is the opinion of Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Umar, 'Urwah, Ibn Sirin, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr. It was narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that he entered while the Imam was in the morning prayer, so he performed the two rak'ahs of Fajr. This is the school of al-Hasan, Makhul, Mujahid, and Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman. Malik said: If he does not fear missing the rak'ah, he should perform them outside the mosque. Al-Awza'i, Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, and Abu Hanifah said: He should perform them unless he fears missing the last rak'ah. Our evidence is the statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "If the prayer is commenced, there is no prayer except the obligatory one." Narrated by
(21) In: Chapter on What One Says When Entering the Mosque, from the Chapters on Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/111. It was also narrated by Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on Supplication When Entering the Mosque, from the Book of Mosques. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/253, 254. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 6/282, 283. (22) Narrated by al-Bukhari, in: Chapter on If One Enters the Mosque Let Him Perform Two Rak'ahs, from the Book of Prayer; and in: Chapter on What Was Said Regarding Supererogatory Prayers in Pairs, from the Book of Tahajjud. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/120, 121, 2/70. And Muslim, in: Chapter on the Desirability of Greeting the Mosque with Two Rak'ahs... etc., from the Book of Traveler's Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/495. It was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on What Was Said If One of You Enters the Mosque Let Him Perform Two Rak'ahs, from the Chapters on Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/112. And al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter on the Command to Pray Before Sitting Down in It, from the Book of Mosques. al-Mujtaba 2/42. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter on the Two Rak'ahs When Entering the Mosque, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/323, 324. And Imam Malik, in: Chapter on Awaiting the Prayer and Walking to It, from the Book of Travel. al-Muwatta 1/162. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 5/295, 296, 303, 305, 311. (23) Al-Musnad 3/43, 54.
