that what is meant is that the sacrificial offering reaches the Ka‘bah. Statements are understood according to what naturally comes to the listener’s mind. For this reason, we interpret the Prophet’s words, “the mosque of the Ka‘bah” (1), as referring to the particular mosque in which the structure of the Ka‘bah stands, because that is what naturally comes to the listener’s mind.

If someone were to ask: “If the Sacred Mosque becomes full, and the rows extend continuously into the markets and the areas surrounding the sacred precinct, do those people receive the reward of those who are within the sacred precinct?”

The answer is: Yes, because this congregation is one congregation. Those who could only pray in the markets outside the mosque would hasten to a place inside it if they were able to find one. So long as the rows remain continuous, the reward is attained even by one who is outside the mosque.

As for al-Masjid al-Aqsa, it refers specifically to the mosque: the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock, or the area around it, depending on the differing views concerning it. It does not encompass all the mosques in Palestine.

His statement, “he is not bound by it”: the clause here is the answer to “whoever”; that is, whoever vows to observe i‘tikāf (seclusion for worship) or to pray in a mosque other than the three mosques is not bound to do so—that is, in the particular mosque he designated.

His statement, “he is not bound”: the apparent meaning of his words is unrestricted, even if he designated the mosque in which he vowed to observe i‘tikāf or to pray because of a legally recognized merit, such as a large congregation or the mosque’s antiquity. For a large congregation and an ancient mosque do possess a merit,