حَدَّثَنَا
أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ ، حَدَّثَنَا
إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ الْهَجَرِيُّ ، عَنْ
أَبِي الْأَحْوَصِ ، عَنْ
عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ، قَالَ : مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ غَدًا مُسْلِمًا ، فَلْيُحَافِظْ عَلَى هَؤُلَاءِ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْمَكْتُوبَاتِ حَيْثُ يُنَادَى بِهِنَّ ، فَإِنَّهُنَّ مِنْ سُنَنِ الْهُدَى ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ شَرَعَ لِنَبِيِّكُمْ سُنَنَ الْهُدَى ، وَمَا مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَلَهُ مَسْجِدٌ فِي بَيْتِهِ ، وَلَوْ صَلَّيْتُمْ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ ، كَمَا يُصَلِّي هَذَا الْمُتَخَلِّفُ فِي بَيْتِهِ ، لَتَرَكْتُمْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّكُمْ ، وَلَوْ تَرَكْتُمْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّكُمْ لَضَلَلْتُمْ ، وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُنِي وَمَا يَتَخَلَّفُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا مُنَافِقٌ مَعْلُومٌ نِفَاقُهُ ، وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ الرَّجُلَ يُهَادَى بَيْنَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ حَتَّى يُقَامَ فِي الصَّفِّ . (حديث مرفوع) (حديث موقوف) وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يَتَوَضَّأُ ، فَيُحْسِنُ الْوُضُوءَ ، ثُمَّ يَأْتِي مَسْجِدًا مِنَ الْمَسَاجِدِ ، فَيَخْطُو خُطْوَةً ، إِلَّا رُفِعَ بِهَا دَرَجَةً ، أَوْ حُطَّ عَنْهُ بِهَا خَطِيئَةٌ ، أَوْ كُتِبَتْ لَهُ بِهَا حَسَنَةٌ حَتَّى إِنْ كُنَّا لَنُقَارِبُ بَيْنَ الْخُطَى ، وَإِنَّ فَضْلَ صَلَاةِ الرَّجُلِ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ عَلَى صَلَاتِهِ وَحْدَهُ ، بِخَمْسٍ وَعِشْرِينَ دَرَجَةً " .
Sayyiduna Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that whoever wishes to meet Allah tomorrow on the Day of Resurrection in a state of Islam, he should be regular in offering these obligatory prayers whenever they are called for, because they are among the ways of guidance (Sunan al-Huda), and Allah has prescribed the ways of guidance for your Prophet. Each one of you has a mosque in his house, but if you start praying in your houses as these people who stay behind pray in their houses, then you will have abandoned the Sunnah of your Prophet, and when you abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet, you will go astray. And I have seen that only the hypocrite, whose hypocrisy was well known, would stay behind from the congregational prayer. I have also seen that a man would be brought to the mosque supported by two men and would be made to stand in the row. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever performs ablution and does it well, then sets out to any mosque, every step he takes will raise him one degree, or one sin will be forgiven, or one good deed will be written for him.” On this basis, we used to take small steps, and the virtue of praying in congregation is twenty-five times greater than praying alone.