One should come to it with calmness and dignity: calmness in one’s speech and movements, and dignity in one’s bearing. He should not come while agitated, or walking as one who is unsettled. Rather, he should be dignified, for he is proceeding to a place where he will stand before Allah. We know that if a person were going to the palace of one of the kings, you would find him preparing himself, looking at his face and his clothing; he would come with calmness and dignity, and this would be apparent in him. So what, then, of one who comes to the House of Allah to stand before Him? He should not hurry, even if he fears that he will miss the prayer, for the Prophet ﷺ said: “When you hear the iqamah, walk to the prayer, and maintain calmness and dignity; do not rush.” (1) Pray whatever you catch, and complete whatever you miss, for this is the true essence of proper etiquette with Allah.

Then, when you arrive at the mosque, pray whatever is easy for you. If the call to prayer has been made, you may pray the regular sunnah prayer, if that obligatory prayer has a regular sunnah prayer before it. If it has no regular sunnah prayer before it, then pray the sunnah prayer between the two calls to prayer, for there is a prayer between every two calls to prayer. This prayer—meaning the sunnah prayer between the two calls or the regular sunnah prayer—also suffices as the greeting of the mosque, because of the Messenger’s ﷺ saying: “When one of you enters the mosque, he should not sit down until he has prayed two rak‘ahs.” (2) This applies to