1064/1 - Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Praying in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than praying alone.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1065/2 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The reward of a man’s prayer in congregation is twenty-five times greater than that of the prayer he offers in his house or market. That is because if he performs ablution thoroughly and then sets out for the mosque with the sole intention of praying, he will not take a step except he is raised one degree in reward and one sin is removed from his account thereby. Then, when he offers his prayer, the angels keep on supplicating Allah for him as long as he is in his place of prayer, unless he makes Hadath (sins or breaks his ablution). They say: ‘O Allah, bestow Your blessings upon him; O Allah, have mercy upon him.’ He is considered to be in prayer as long as he is waiting for prayer.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim] This is the wording of Al-Bukhāri.
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1) Congregational prayer is one of the best acts of worship, given its various merits, such as the multiplication of rewards compared to prayer performed individually.
2) Allah’s grace is great and His mercy is all-inclusive. He has made it accessible to His believing servants through the easiest of ways. He gives great rewards for simple deeds.
There is no contradiction between the two Hadīths regarding the reward of 27 degrees and 25 degrees. We should adopt the greater reward by way of increasing the relevant virtue.
1066/3 - He also reported: A blind man came to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have no one to lead me to the mosque.” He asked the Messenger to allow him to pray at home, which he did. When the man was leaving, the Prophet called him back and said: “Can you hear the Adhān?” He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then respond to it.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1067/4 - ‘Abdullāh - or ‘Amr - ibn Qays, aka Ibn Um Maktūm, the Muezzin (may Allah be pleased with him), is reported to have said: “O Messenger of Allah, Madīnah is filled with vermin and wild beasts.” The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “Since you hear ‘come to prayer, come to success’, then come to them.”
[Narrated by Abu Dāwūd with a sound Isnād]
1) It is obligatory to attend congregational prayer, based on many proofs from the Qur’an and Sunnah. One of these is the fact that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) made it due upon a blind man; then what about sighted people?!
2) What matters in considering congregational prayer obligatory for someone is his ability to hear the Adhān proclaimed with the natural voice, not through loudspeakers.
3) Congregational prayer should be offered in the mosque where it is normally observed, and it is not sufficient to offer it at home, for the Shariah texts and the relevant objectives in the Qur’an and Sunnah do point to the obligation of offering prayers in congregation in the mosque. This stems from Allah’s mercy towards His servants, as their rewards increase and their hearts unite in love and harmony when they gather for prayer.
1068/5 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, I was about to order firewood to be collected, then order the Adhān for prayer to be proclaimed, then order a man to lead the people in prayer, and then go to some men (who have not attended the prayer) and burn their houses upon them.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) It gives a stern warning to those who fail to attend congregational prayer without an excuse, for the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would not have thought of inflicting such a punishment upon them, i.e. burning their houses, had it not been an obligation.
2) It shows the Prophet’s mercy towards his Ummah as he warned them of disobeying his commands and made the resulting punishment clear to them.
1069/6 - Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said: “Whoever would like to meet Allah Almighty tomorrow as a Muslim, let him regularly attend these five prayers where the Adhān for them is made, for Allah prescribed for His Prophet the ways of guidance, and they (the prayers) are part of those ways of guidance. If you were to pray in your houses like this one who failed to attend (the congregational prayer) and prayed at home, you would be forsaking the Sunnah of your Prophet, and if you were to forsake the Sunnah of your Prophet, you would go astray. I remember when none of us would fail to attend the prayer except a hypocrite known for hypocrisy. I would see a man coming supported by two others until he would be made to stand in the row.” [Narrated by Muslim]
In another version by him: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) taught us the ways of guidance, and indeed part of the ways of guidance is to offer prayer in the mosque where the Adhān for it is proclaimed.”
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1) Regular performance of prayer in congregation in the place where the Adhān for it is announced is a reason for having a good end in life.
2) Everything authentically reported from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is guidance and light. So, a believer is required to submit to the Prophet’s commands and yield to his Sunnah, which comprises all guidance and goodness.
3) Deviating from the Sunnah is a reason for misguidance and error.
4) Regular failure to attend congregational prayer is a sign of hypocrisy. By contrast, attending it persistently, even with difficulty, is a sign of true faith. So, to which category do you want to belong?
1070/7 - Abu al-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “If there are three (men) in a village or in the desert among whom congregational prayer is not established, then Satan has certainly overcome them. So, perform prayer in congregation, for the wolf eats up a solitary sheep that strays far from the flock.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, with a sound Isnād]
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1) It enjoins us to develop unity and harmony and avoid disunity and dissension. Indeed, straying from the group leads to ruin.
2) The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) likened a person who departs from the group to a sheep that strays away from the flock, which leads to it being eaten by the wolf. So, a Muslim is advised to stick to the right course and not swerve from the way of Ahl-us-Sunnah Wa al-Jamā‘ah.
3) Satan can only overcome those disunited by personal inclinations. He has no power over those united in guidance.
In Fat'h al-Bāri Sharh Sahīh al-Bukhāri, Al-Hāfiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalāni mentioned a valuable study on the benefits of congregational prayer and the wisdom behind the multiplication of rewards for it. Here is a summary of what he said: “The first of them is repeating after the Muezzin, going to prayer early, walking to the mosque in tranquility, entering the mosque in supplication, praying the 'greeting of the mosque' prayer, waiting for congregational prayer, benefiting from the invocation of the angels and their asking for forgiveness for him and their testimony in his favor, repeating after the Iqāmah, being safe from Satan as the latter runs away upon hearing the Iqāmah, standing to wait for Ihrām (the opening Takbīr in prayer), saying the Takbīr of Ihrām, straightening the rows and closing their gaps, getting the answer to the phrase ‘Allah hears he who praises Him’, being mostly safe from forgetfulness, achieving focus of mind, improving appearance, being celebrated by the angels, training to recite the Qur’an in a proper and measured way, learning the pillars, showing the rituals of Islam, defeating Satan by gathering in worship, safety from being described as a hypocrite, returning the Imām’s greeting of peace, benefiting from the gathering as the perfect (prayer) gives blessing to the deficient (prayer), and the development of harmony among neighbors as they meet each other at the times of prayer and as after each other. These are 25 traits and benefits. Two benefits remain in relation to audible prayers, namely listening to the Imām’s recitation and saying ‘amen’ along with him. And Allah knows best.”