The 365 · Sunnah · Day 46 · Prayer
Praying Two Rakʿahs Upon Entering the Masjid Before Sitting
The hadith
إِذَا دَخَلَ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلَا يَجْلِسْ حَتَّى يُصَلِّيَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'When any of you enters the masjid, let him not sit down until he prays two rakʿahs.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1163, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 714, narrated by Abū Qatādah ra.) Practiced at every masjid entry.
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'När någon av er kommer in i moskén, låt honom inte sätta sig förrän han bett två rakat.'
The story
The hadith was given by the Prophet ﷺ as a general standing instruction (Bukhārī 1163). A separate famous incident: a man entered the masjid during Jumuʿah while the Prophet ﷺ was giving the khuṭbah and sat down. The Prophet ﷺ stopped his khuṭbah and asked: 'Did you pray?' The man said: 'No.' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Get up and pray two rakʿahs, and make them brief.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 875.) The hadith establishes that tahiyyat al-masjid is to be prayed even during the Jumuʿah khuṭbah, briefly, per the Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī positions.
Why it's here
Tahiyyat al-masjid is the greeting of the House of Allah upon entering. The Prophet's ﷺ instruction is structural: do not sit until two rakʿahs have been prayed. The exception is during the iqāmah of an obligatory prayer (the obligation overrides the sunnah) or during the khaṭīb's khuṭbah (per a separate hadith narrative; the four madhhabs differ on this point). The two rakʿahs honor the masjid's status as Allah's house.
Try it today
1. Every time you enter a masjid, before sitting, pray two rakʿahs of tahiyyat al-masjid. 2. If the obligatory prayer's iqāmah has been called, join that instead (it counts). 3. If you arrive during the Jumuʿah khuṭbah, pray two brief rakʿahs and then sit and listen. 4. If you enter for a non-prayer reason (e.g., to retrieve something, to visit), pray the two rakʿahs anyway. The masjid itself deserves the greeting.
In your day
Most modern Muslims enter a masjid and sit immediately, especially for non-prayer purposes. The Sunnah is unambiguous: do not sit until two rakʿahs are prayed. The two rakʿahs take about ninety seconds. The discipline retrains the heart's posture toward the masjid.
A reflection to carry
Taḥiyyat al-masjid: the masjid-greeting prayer. The Prophet ﷺ: 'When one of you enters the masjid, let him not sit until he has prayed two rakʿahs.' (Bukhārī 444.)
Read the longer reflection
The masjid-greeting is the structural acknowledgment of the divine house: the believer does not enter Allah's house and sit without first praying two rakʿahs to honor it. The Prophet ﷺ was emphatic: even when teaching or hearing the khuṭbah, the masjid-greeting was due (in the latter case, two short rakʿahs). Cure: every time you enter the masjid, before sitting, pray two rakʿahs; the obligatory or sunnah prayer about to be prayed counts as the masjid-greeting if praying immediately; otherwise, two specific rakʿahs as taḥiyyah. Modern masjid-entry often skips this; the structural Sunnah is non-negotiable per the Prophet's ﷺ instruction.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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