Performing Salah in Congregation
Why should the Muslim not find peace of heart in the mosques?
The lane of the Beloved is, after all, the lane of the Beloved.
● The Importance of Congregational Salah:
Allah the Exalted says:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ ﴿٤٣﴾
“Establish prayer, give zakah, and bow with those who bow [in worship].”
The righteous predecessors and the exegetes say that this verse concerns congregational prayer.
Performing Salah in congregation is obligatory upon every person who is able and who hears the call to prayer. The intercessor of the Day of Judgement, the Master of Madinah ﷺ, said:
«من سمع النداء فلم يأته ، فلا صلاة له ، إلا من عذر»
“Whoever hears the call and does not come to the mosque, there is no Salah for him, except for an excuse [a valid one].”
“Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about this, and he said that the excuse meant fear or illness.”
It is narrated from Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a blind man came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I am a blind man, and there is no one to lead me to the mosque. Do you grant me permission to pray at home?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him: “Do you hear the call to prayer?” He replied: “Yes, certainly I do hear it.” Then the Seal of the Prophets ﷺ said: “Then answer the call of Allah’s summoner,” meaning: go to the mosque to pray with the congregation.
And in some narrations the words are:
«ما أجد لك رخصة»
“I do not find any concession for you.”
Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) in his “Sahih, Kitab al-Salah” set up a chapter: «باب وجوب صلاة الجماعة» “Chapter: Praying in congregation is obligatory.”
And after this, by way of introduction, he mentions the statement of Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him):
«إن منعته أمه عن العشاء فى الجماعة شفقة لم يطعها»
“That if a person’s mother prevents him out of affection from going to the mosque for the congregational ‘Isha prayer, then it is obligatory for that person not to obey his mother.”
Then he mentions the narration of Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the last of the Prophets ﷺ, that he said:
“I have intended to order that the iqamah be called for prayer, then I would order a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go with some men carrying bundles of firewood to those people who do not attend the congregation, and set fire to their houses with them inside.”
Maulana Dawud Raz (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: From this hadith it is evident how necessary it is to perform Salah in congregation, as the words show that the Noble Messenger ﷺ expressed the intention of setting fire to the houses of those who abandon the congregation. Therefore, this hadith is a major proof for those scholars who have declared Salah in congregation to be obligatory. Allamah al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
«والحديث استدل به القائلون بوجوب صلوة الجماعة لأنها لو كانت سنة لم يهدد تاركها بالتحريق»
“Those who hold that congregational prayer is obligatory have taken evidence from this hadith. If it were merely a Sunnah, the one who abandons it would not have been threatened with burning in fire.”
● The Virtue of Congregational Salah:
It is narrated from Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«صلاة الجماعة تفضل صلاة القد بسبع وعشرين درجة»
“Congregational prayer is twenty-seven (27) degrees superior to prayer offered alone.”
Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
«فإن الصلوة فى المسجد من أكبر شعائر الدين و علامات»
“Praying in the mosque is, among the symbols and signs of the religion, the greatest.”
● Examples of the Righteous Predecessors Who Were Eager for Congregational Salah:
Sayyidina Ibn al-Musayyib says that for the past forty years he has never missed the congregational prayer.
Wakee’ ibn al-Jarrah narrated from al-A’mash that he was seventy (70) years old, and his Takbir al-Ula had never been missed.
When al-Aswad missed the congregation, he would go to another mosque where there was a possibility of getting congregational prayer.
Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) came to a mosque where the prayer had already been performed. He then gave the adhan again, called the iqamah, and prayed in congregation.
Muhammad ibn al-Mubarak al-Suri says: When the congregational prayer of Sa’id ibn Abd al-Aziz was missed, he would begin to weep.
And it is reported from Imam Nafi’ that when the congregational ‘Isha prayer of Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was missed, he would enliven the rest of the night, meaning he would spend the rest of the night in the worship and obedience of Allah the Exalted.
It is related about Bishr ibn al-Hasan al-Basri that he was called “Safi,” and he was named Safi only because he performed Salah consistently in the first row in a mosque of Basra for fifty (50) years.
● The Warning Against Abandoning Congregation:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“I have considered ordering the muezzin to give the call to prayer, then ordering a man to lead the congregation, and then going with a flame of fire to burn the houses of those who have not come out to pray.”
And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“If there are three Muslims in a village or in the desert and they do not establish the congregational prayer, then Satan overpowers them. You must pray in congregation, for the wolf eats the lone sheep.”
● Etiquette of going out for prayer:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When you hear the iqamah, come to the prayer walking calmly and with dignity. Do not hurry. Pray whatever you catch with the congregation, and complete whatever is missed afterwards.”
Remember! When a person sets out from his home with the intention of going to the mosque, he goes to the court of Allah, who is all-powerful, the One, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Forgiving. Nothing is hidden from Him, wherever one may be. Not even a grain of mustard seed is hidden from Him, whether small or large, whether in the seven earths, or in the seven heavens, or in the seven seas, or on the tops of the lofty mountains. He comes to the House of Allah, intends Allah, turns towards Allah, and turns towards His house about which the command is:
فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَن تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ ﴿٣٦﴾ رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ ۙ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالْأَبْصَارُ ﴿٣٧﴾
“In houses which Allah has permitted to be raised and His name to be mentioned in them. In them He is glorified morning and evening by men whom neither trade nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah, the establishment of prayer, and the giving of zakah. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned.”
Therefore, when you leave your home, show extraordinary seriousness and respect. Cut yourself off from worldly affairs and their preoccupations, and go out devoted to Allah alone. Go out with tranquility and dignity, for the Prophet ﷺ has commanded us exactly this. Let feelings of longing and fear of Allah, joy and regret, humility and lowliness, that is, abasement, fill us. The more humility, lowliness, submission, and turning back to Allah one shows, the purer one’s prayer will be, the more it will be accepted by Allah, the higher the servant’s station will rise, and the closer he will become to Allah. But if he acts with arrogance, Allah will break him, reject his deed, and Allah does not accept the deed of the arrogant.
❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When a person performs wudu well and then walks towards the mosque, he should not interlace the fingers of one hand with the fingers of the other, for he is in prayer.”
❀ And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said:
“When any one of you enters the mosque, he must pray two rak’ahs before sitting down.”
❀ Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When the wife of any one of you asks permission to go to the mosque, he should not prevent her.”
❀ Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from the mosques of Allah, when they go to the mosque without adorning themselves.”
