“If, on the Day of Jumuʿah, you say to your companion, ‘Be quiet,’ while the imam is delivering the sermon, you have lapsed into idle talk.” This was reported by the Two Shaykhs and others.

Thus, when the Prophet ﷺ nevertheless commanded the greeting-prayer in that very situation, it shows that, in his view, it outweighs enjoining right and forbidding wrong—acts which are originally obligatory. This is perfectly clear, praise be to Allah.

To sum up, the ḥadith is mass-transmitted from Abū Hurayrah , and it has corroboration from the report of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī . Aḥmad recorded it through the route of Ḥammād ibn Salamah, from ʿAlī ibn Yazīd, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from him. This chain is sound for supporting evidence.

His words, “so long as he does not break wind,” were explained by the narrator himself as referring to the emission of sound or wind; contrary interpretations carry no weight. Al-Ḥāfiẓ commented: “One may further infer that refraining from offensive deeds of the hand or tongue is even more imperative, for their harm is greater—a point noted by Ibn Baṭṭāl.”

Al-ʿIrāqī has discussed the ḥadith at length and listed its benefits in his commentary on al-Taqrīb; whoever wishes may consult it.

The statement, “No Muslim makes a habit of frequenting the mosques for prayer and remembrance except that Allah greets him cheerfully—from the moment he sets out—as the family of one who has been absent greet him on his return,” is likewise narrated from Abū Hurayrah.