Assalamualaykum I have a question and would be most grateful if you could clear my mind. Do we have to offer Tayatul Masjid again if we happen to relieve oneself in the washroom in the mosque premise while iktiqaf during the maghrib prayer and waiting for the isya prayer?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Tahiyyatul-Masjid (the prayer of salutation to the mosque) is not an obligation; rather, it is a Sunnah for whoever is in a state of ablution and enters the mosque for the first time in order to stay in it.

As regards a person who was sitting inside the mosque and went out of it, and then returned to it after a short period of time –which is considered as a short period according to the customs –then he is not required to perform the prayer of salutation to the mosque. However, if he performs this prayer he will be rewarded for doing so, Allaah willing. Nonetheless, some scholars –among whom is Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah – are of the view that it is desirable to perform this prayer.

However, if one stays outside the mosque for a long period of time, then it is desirable for him/her to perform it when he/she re-enters the mosque. The same two previous rulings apply to going out to the toilet of the mosque. For more benefit on performing the prayer during the disliked times, please refer to Fatwa 84280, and to Fatwa 85238 on performing the Tahiyyatul-Masjid during the disliked time.

Allaah Knows best.