Is being near the mosque better, or being far from it?

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The farther one is from the mosque, the greater his reward."

Al-Aswad bin al-Ala said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "From the time one of you leaves his mosque for his house, one step records a good deed for him and the other wipes away a sin."

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Our houses were far from the mosque, so we intended to move near the mosque of the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When we mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: "Do not do so; come from where you live. Whenever a believer performs ablution well and then goes out intending the mosque, with every step a good deed is written for him and a sin is forgiven."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Banu Salamah intended to leave their area and build houses near the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked that (the outskirts of) Madinah should be left empty, and said: "O Banu Salamah, do you not count on reward for your footsteps?" They said: Of course. Then they decided to stay where they were.

Al-Hasan said: The houses of Banu Salamah were far from the mosque, so they decided to move near the mosque in order to pray with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). At this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "O Banu Salamah, do you not wish to gain reward for your footprints?" They said: Of course. Then they stayed on in those same houses of theirs.

Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There was a man in Madinah, and I do not know of anyone among the people of Madinah who prayed towards the qiblah whose house was farther from the mosque than his, and he used to attend the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Someone said to him: "If only you would buy a donkey to ride on in the scorching heat and the darkness." He said: "By Allah, it would not please me at all that my house were right beside the mosque." This was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the man said: "O Messenger of Allah, so that my steps may be written for me: my coming and my going, and my returning to my family." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has granted you that, and Allah has granted you all that you hoped to be rewarded for", or as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said.

Ali bin Hashim said: I asked Ibn Abi Layla, saying: Banu Salamah intended to move near the mosque. He then narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For with every step there is a good deed."