Praise be to Allah.
Al-Bukhari (477) and Muslim (649) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “A man’s prayer in congregation is twenty-five times better than his prayer in his house or his marketplace. That is because if one of you does wudu and does it well, then comes to the mosque, with no other motive or purpose than to pray, then he does not take any step but Allah will raise him one degree in status thereby, and will erase one sin from him thereby, until he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque, he is in a state of prayer so long as the prayer is what is keeping him there, and the angels send blessings on him so long as he remains in the place where he prayed, saying, ‘O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him,’ so long as he does not break his wudu.”
This hadith is general in meaning, and includes doing wudu in one’s house or elsewhere.
Based on that, if he does wudu in the place where he is, whether it is his house or the marketplace or the workplace, wherever he is, then he goes out from that place for no purpose except to pray, then he will attain the reward mentioned in this hadith.
With regard to the report narrated by Muslim (666) from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever purifies himself in his house then walks to one of the houses of Allah in order to offer one of the obligatory prayers enjoined by Allah, for every two steps he takes, one will erase a sin and the other will raise him one degree in status”,
this report specifically refers to when he purifies himself at home. It is mentioned in this way because – and Allah knows best – this is what is mostly the case. Rather what is meant is that he does wudu in the place where he is, and for that reason there is a differentiation in virtue between his praying in the mosque and his praying at home or in the marketplace. The last two are both surpassed by prayer offered in congregation.
As-Suyuti said in al-Tawshih Sharh al-Jami‘ as-Sahih (2/680): “In his house or in his marketplace” refers to praying on his ow, which is what is mostly the case. This was stated by Ibn Daqiq al-‘Eid. End quote.
Al-Minnawi said in at-Taysir (2/97): The house and the marketplace are singled out for mention to alert people to the fact that the multiplication of the reward will not apply in places other than the mosque. End quote.
As-Sindi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on the hadith, “Whoever does wudu in his house, then comes to Masjid Quba’ and offers a prayer there, he will have a reward like that of ‘umrah”:
This specific mention [of Masjid Quba’] is not the reason for attaining this reward; rather he mentioned it in order to highlight the fact that going to the mosque is only for the one whose house is close to it, so that he can purify himself at home and pray in the mosque with that purification, such as the people of Madinah and the people of Quba’, because they do not need to prepare themselves to travel. Preparing oneself to travel is not permissible except for the purpose of visiting the three mosques, and it is as if this is the reason why that specific matter was not mentioned in the previous hadith."(Hashiyat as-Sindi ‘ala Sunan Ibn Majah 1/431).
That reward is dependent on all these conditions being met, namely that the person purifies himself in his house or the place where he is, then he walks to a mosque where prayer is offered in congregation, and he does not set out from the place where he is for any purpose except the prayer.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In al-Musnad and Sahih Ibn Hibban, it is narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to the mosque to pray in congregation, for every two steps he takes, one will erase a bad deed and the other will earn him a good deed, on the way there and on the way back.”
This general statement is subject to two restrictions as mentioned in the hadith of Abu Salih from Abu Hurayrah, which was narrated by al-Bukhari, and was mentioned above and will be mentioned below:
1. That he should come out of his house in a state of purity, having purified himself well and thoroughly.
2. That he should only be going out for the purpose of praying in the mosque. If he goes out to do an errand, and the mosque is on his way, so he enters the mosque and prays, but he did not go out for that purpose, then he will not attain this particular reward.
The same applies if he goes out of his house without having purified himself, he will attain a different reward. However, this particular reward – which is being raised in status and having bad deeds erased – will be not be attained in this case."(Fath al-Bari 6/32).
Conclusion:
This reward is restricted to one who purifies himself in his house or in the place where he is, then goes out for no purpose except to pray. The one who goes out without having purified himself, or goes out from the place where he is without having prayer as his primary aim is not one of those who will attain this particular reward.
And Allah knows best.
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