two rak'ahs.” (1)
— (2-6-4) What Constitutes the Greeting of the Sacred Mosque?
Nothing has been reported that excludes the Sacred Mosque from the general scope of the preceding hadith. Thus, the Sacred Mosque has no special greeting distinct from that of other mosques.
However, when a pilgrim coming from beyond the designated pilgrimage boundaries enters in a state of ihram, the first thing he does is perform circumambulation, as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did during his Hajj.
The saying commonly repeated, “Circumambulation is the greeting of the House,” has no basis. (2)
(3-6-4) When Someone Enters the Mosque and the Iqāma Is Called
If someone enters the mosque and the iqāma is called, he must join the prayer for which it has been called, and the two rak'ahs for greeting the mosque are waived.
The evidence for this is as follows:
Abū Hurayra reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “When the iqāma is called, no prayer may be performed except the obligatory prayer.” Recorded by Muslim. (3)
(1) This version is found in al-Bukhārī’s “Book of Tahajjud, Chapter on What Has Been Narrated Concerning Voluntary Prayers Two Rak'ahs at a Time,” hadith no. 1163.
(2) As the eminent scholar al-Albānī stated. He cited it in *al-Silsila al-Daīfa* (hadith no. 1012) and commented: “I know of nothing in the Prophet’s verbal or practical Sunnah that supports its meaning. Rather, the general evidence concerning prayer before sitting down in a mosque also includes the Sacred Mosque. The claim that its greeting is circumambulation therefore conflicts with this general evidence and cannot be accepted unless it is authentically established—and that is far-fetched. This is especially so since experience shows that, during the pilgrimage seasons, someone entering the Sacred Mosque cannot perform circumambulation every time he enters. Praise be to Allah, who has allowed latitude in this matter: ‘He has placed no hardship upon you in religion.’ It should be noted that this ruling applies only to someone who is not in a state of ihrām. As for someone in ihrām, the Sunnah is to begin with circumambulation and then perform the two rak'ahs afterward.”
(3) A *sahīh* hadith.
Muslim recorded it in the “Book of the Prayer of Travelers and Its Shortening, Chapter on the Dislike of Beginning a Voluntary Prayer after the Muezzin Has Begun,” hadith no. 710. See also *Jāmi al-Usūl*, 5/659.