Hadith On Offering 2 Rakah Before Leaving And Entering The House
Even if this hadith is taken on its face value then it was just a suggestion/recommendation of Prophet Muhammad (sws) for offering additional Nafl Salah. It is not obligatory. Also, it must be kept in mind that the chain of this Hadith is of Hasan category while a much stronger chain in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abi-Dawud suggest that Prophet Muhammad (sws) used offer 2 cycles of Nafl Salah when he used to return from a journey ( https://sunnah.com/muslim:716 , https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2781 ). In the light of this stronger narration, it can be fairly assumed that at some instance, Prophet Muhammad (sws) also encouraged other Muslims to do the same i.e. to offer Nafl Salah before leaving for a journey and after conclusion of the journey. Here statement like leaving home and entering home in the Hadith can very well be taken in the meaning of leaving home for journey and entering home after that journey. Please also study this Hadith in the light of the explanation provided in the following thread : Discussion 82541