Did the noble Companions pray in the church hall at the invitation of the chief priest when Jerusalem was conquered, while 'Umar ibn al-Khattab did not join them?
The incident of Umar ibn al-Khattab praying in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has not been narrated with chains of transmission in the books of and athar (narrations). The earliest person to mention it was Ibn Khaldun, who explained Umar's refusal to pray inside the church as a fear that Muslims might turn it into a mosque. The text, however, appears to be anomalous and unsound for two reasons: firstly, a church does not become Muslim property merely because a ruler prays in it; and secondly, what is established about Umar is the permissibility of praying in churches devoid of statues and images, and his abstention from entering them if these were present.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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