Congregational prayer

It is narrated from Abu Bahriyyah; he said: I entered the mosque of Hims, and my eyes fell upon a young man around whom people had gathered. His hair was tightly curled, and when he spoke it was as if light and pearls were coming from his blessed mouth. I asked: "Who is this?" The people said that this was Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). I heard him saying: "Whoever would be delighted to come before Allah Almighty in a state of safety and security, let him take care to perform these five prayers (in congregation) where the call to prayer is given for them, for these prayers are among the clear paths of guidance and among the ways that your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laid down for you. And let no one say: 'I have a place of prayer in my house where I pray,' for if you did that, you would abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and if you abandoned the Sunnah of your Prophet, you would certainly go astray. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! I saw us in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when no one stayed behind from these prayers except one whose hypocrisy was plainly evident, to the point that a sick man would be brought, supported between two men, so that he could be made to stand in the row."
And Imam Abu Ya'la said: Abd al-A'la bin Hammad narrated to us.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I firmly resolved to order a caller (the mu'adhdhin) to give the call for prayer, then to go to the men (in their homes) who stay behind from the prayer and set fire to their houses with them inside."
Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi recorded it; its chain contains Talhah bin Amr al-Makki, who is a da'if (weak) narrator. However, the basis of this meaning is established in the two Sahihs from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Thabit bin Ubayd (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "I went to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) to visit him while he was ill, and his two sons were with him. Meanwhile the iqamah for the prayer was called, so Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said (instructing his sons): 'Both of you go to the prayer, for a man's prayer in congregation surpasses his prayer alone by twenty-five degrees.'"
Imam Musaddad recorded this athar (report) in his Musnad, and all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy). This virtue of congregational prayer is also established by authentic marfu' hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man's prayer offered alone in the path of Allah Almighty is equal in reward to twenty-five prayers, his prayer offered in the company of his companions is equal to nine hundred prayers, and his prayer offered in congregation is equal in reward to forty-nine thousand prayers."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this hadith in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said: "Whoever regularly keeps to the congregational prayer, wherever he may be and with whomever he may be, will pass over the Sirat like flashing lightning in the first group, along with those who are foremost, and his face will be brighter and more radiant than the moon on the night of the full moon. For every day and night in which he kept to the congregation, he will have the reward of a martyr. And whoever keeps to the front row and catches the first takbir (the opening takbir) without harming any believer, Allah Almighty will give him a reward equal to that of the mu'adhdhins on the Day of Resurrection."
(18) Imam al-Harith mentioned this hadith concerning the reward of the mu'adhdhins, and it has already passed in the chapter on the call to prayer.
This is a mawdu' (fabricated) report, which al-Harith narrated in a lengthy text of about five pages.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Whoever hears the call to prayer and then does not come to the prayer (in congregation) without a (valid) excuse, there is no prayer for him (meaning his prayer is not complete, or he is deprived of the complete reward that is specific to congregational prayer)."
All the narrators of this report's chain are thiqat (trustworthy), and it is the mawquf statement of the eminent Companion of the Messenger, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), which Imam Musaddad recorded in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (may Allah have mercy on him) that he regarded it as disliked and makruh that "a man should leave the mosque when he has heard the iqamah of the prayer."
[Takhrij: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah: 404, and its chain is sahih (authentic)]

Yahya bin As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah have mercy on him) (about whom his nephew Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman said: I have not seen anyone among our people as accomplished as him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever hears the call (adhan) given for the congregational prayer and then does not attend it three times (without a valid excuse), then hears (the adhan) again and does not attend three times, a seal is set upon his heart and his heart is made the heart of a hypocrite."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded this hadith. The report of the narrator in its chain, Yahya bin As'ad bin Zurarah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is mursal, since he is counted among the Successors. However, the meaning of this severe warning is also established by other reliable hadith and supporting reports.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man's prayer in congregation has a superiority of twenty-four parts over his prayer offered alone."
And the hadith of Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla from one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) will be presented, if Allah Almighty wills, in the Book of Riqaq (heart-softening reports).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Indeed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and His angels send their special mercy upon those who keep the rows (of prayer) joined together, and the congregational prayer holds twenty-five times more virtue and reward than the prayer of a person alone."
Musnad Abi Ya'la, hadith no. 407. Its chain contains Musa bin Ubaydah al-Rabadhi, who is a da'if (weak) narrator; however, other authentic hadith are narrated about joining the rows and the virtue of congregational prayer.