Multiplied reward in the two sanctuaries includes voluntary prayer

A question about multiplied reward in the two sanctuaries includes voluntary prayer, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the multiplied reward for prayer in the two sanctuaries makes no distinction between obligatory and voluntary prayer, since the hadiths are unrestricted, and that it covers prayer anywhere within the sanctuary. ¹

The questioner asked whether the multiplied reward for prayer in the sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina is limited to obligatory prayers or includes voluntary ones. ¹

The Department answered that the hadiths on multiplied reward in the two sanctuaries draw no distinction between obligatory and voluntary prayer, being unrestricted and general, so they may not be limited without evidence, quoting al-Nawawi in al-Majmu (8/476) that the Shafi'i position is that the merit of prayer in the mosques of Mecca and Medina covers both obligatory and voluntary prayer. ¹ It said the multiplication applies to whoever prays in the Sacred Mosque or anywhere within the sanctuary, quoting al-Shirwani's glosses on Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (10/95) that the soundest view according to al-Nawawi is that it covers the whole sanctuary and is not confined to the mosque or to Mecca. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4523, dated 1 November 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.