Is there any hadith which says that it is prescribed to say Amin when entering the mosque?

Supplication for entering the mosque

Several supplications are soundly narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he used to say when entering the mosque.

One of the most famous and most authentic of these supplications is that which was narrated by Muslim in his Sahih (713): The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him say: Allahumma iftah li abwaba rahmatika (O Allah, open to me the gates of Your mercy), and when he leaves let him say, Allahumma inni as’aluka min fadlika (O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty).”

Also, Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan (466) from `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that when he entered the mosque, he would say: “A`udhu Billah il-`Azim wa bi wajhihi’l-karim wa sultanihi’l-qadim min ash-shaytan ir-rajim (I seek refuge with Allah the Almighty and His noble countenance and His eternal power from the accursed Shaytan).” Classed as authentic by Shaykh al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawud, 485.

Ruling on saying Amin when entering the mosque

With regard to what the questioner mentioned about hearing someone say that it is recommended to say Amin when entering the mosque, there is no such report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and we have not come across any of the scholars who said that.

Perhaps the hadith on which the speaker based that idea was the report narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih (477) and by Muslim in his Sahih (649), from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who 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’.”

It is most likely that this speaker based this idea on this hadith, as the angels offer supplication for this man who does wudu’ in his house then comes to the mosque for no other purpose than to pray. He understood from this text that it is recommended to say Amin to the supplication of the angels in this situation. But this is wrong; rather it is more akin to innovation than to the Sunnah. There is nothing in the hadith to indicate that the angels send blessings upon him when he enters the mosque; rather what appears to be the case is that the angels only say that when he sits waiting for the prayer, not when he enters the door of the mosque.

Warning against introducing innovations into the supplication for entering the mosque

Moreover, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) warned his ummah about that (i.e., innovation); he did not instruct them to say Amin to the supplication of the angels, which indicates that saying it is an innovation.

Ash-Shatibi said in Al-I`tisam (2/282): When the Lawgiver does not say anything about a particular ruling, or does not say anything about an issue, when there is a reason that may require that, and that reason is proven to have existed at the time of revelation and afterwards, but the Lawgiver did not give any specific instructions concerning it in addition to the instructions that were already established at that time,

in that case, His saying nothing about it is like a statement that the Lawgiver intended that nothing should be added to the general ruling concerning that matter and nothing should be subtracted from it.

That is because when there was a reason that would dictate that it be prescribed to do a particular action, yet it was not prescribed and there is no indication that that could be understood from some other texts, this is clearly to be understood as meaning that this action which is additional to what is proven regarding that matter is an additional innovation and is contrary to what the Lawgiver intended, because we understand from the aim of the Lawgiver that we should limit ourselves to the limit that He ordained, no more and no less. End quote.

Finally: we remind ourselves and the questioner, and all the Muslims, to adhere to what the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught, without adding or subtracting anything, for the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 9232, 181372, 181099 and 109203.

And Allah knows best.