among them is that the command to offer the prayer of greeting the mosque is established in the two Sahīh collections. Abū Qatādah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“When any of you enters the mosque, let him pray two rak‘ahs before sitting down.”

He also reported:

“I entered the mosque while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among the people, and I sat down. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘What prevented you from praying two rak‘ahs before sitting down?’ I replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I saw you sitting and the people sitting.’ He said, ‘When any of you enters the mosque, he must not sit down until he has prayed two rak‘ahs.’”

This contains both a command to pray two rak‘ahs before sitting down and a prohibition against sitting down before praying them. It applies generally at all times, and its general scope remains intact: no case has been excluded by a scriptural text or scholarly consensus. The hadith prohibiting prayer, however, is known not to apply universally. A general text whose scope remains intact takes precedence over a general text whose scope has been restricted. The latter is known not to apply universally, unlike the former, for the grounds for its general applicability remain in force, and no exception to it is known.

The second reason:

Both compilers related in their Sahīh collections that Jābir said:

“A man came while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering a sermon to the people. He asked, ‘Have you prayed, so-and-so?’ He replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Stand up and pray.’” Another narration reads: “Pray two rak‘ahs.”

In Muslim’s version, Jābir said that he then said:

“When any of you comes on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, let him pray two rak‘ahs and keep them brief.”

Ahmad followed this hadith, with no differing position reported from him, as did the other jurists of hadith, such as al-Shāfi‘ī, Ishāq, and Abū Thawr