The Importance of Congregation:
❀ Allah Almighty says:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ
Establish prayer, give zakat, and bow down with those who bow down (i.e., pray in congregation).
❀ The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
من سمع النداء فلم يأته فلا صلاة له إلا من عذر
Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not come to the mosque (but prays at home) his prayer will not be accepted, unless he has an excuse.
❀ A blind man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: There is no one to take me to the mosque, may I pray at home? The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked: Do you hear the call to prayer? He said: Yes! Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Then certainly (come to the mosque for prayer).
❀ The importance of congregation is acknowledged but it is not obligatory, because Sayyiduna Yazid bin Aswad, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates:
They prayed with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, while they were young. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, finished praying, he saw two men on one side of the mosque who had not prayed with the congregation. The Prophet, peace be upon him, called them and they were brought before him; their knees were trembling. The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked: What prevented you from praying with us? They said: We prayed at our homes. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Do not do that. When any of you has prayed at home and then finds the Imam who has not yet prayed, then join him and pray with him; this will be a voluntary prayer for you.
In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, has permitted the prayer performed at home.
The Virtue of Congregation:
❀ The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
Whoever performs ablution properly and then goes to the mosque solely for prayer, all his previous sins are forgiven.
❀ And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
Whoever performs ablution properly and goes to the mosque only for prayer, having no other purpose, then with every step he takes, his rank is elevated and a sin is erased, until he enters the mosque. When a person enters the mosque, as long as he remains there for prayer, he is considered to be in prayer (meaning he continues to receive the reward of prayer). And as long as the worshipper sits in his place of prayer, the angels keep praying for him, “O Allah! Have mercy on him, O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! Accept his repentance,” until he harms someone or becomes impure.
❀ And the command of the Messenger, peace be upon him, is:
The reward of congregational prayer is twenty-seven times greater than that of praying alone.
❀ And while explaining the virtue of congregation, he, peace be upon him, said: Among the people, the one who will receive the greatest reward for prayer is the one who comes from the farthest distance to join the congregation.
❀ And regarding the one who goes to the mosque in a state of ablution, he, peace be upon him, said:
Whoever performs ablution and walks to the obligatory prayer, he will receive the reward equivalent to that of a person who performs Hajj while in Ihram.
❀ And he, peace be upon him, said:
A person’s prayer alone is better than praying alone; praying with two people is better than praying alone; and the larger the congregation with which the prayer is performed, the more beloved it is to Allah.
❀ And he, peace be upon him, said:
Whoever leaves his house to pray in congregation, and upon reaching the mosque finds that the congregation has ended, he will still have the reward of praying in congregation and will not have any less reward than those who prayed in congregation.
Warning against abandoning congregation:
❀ The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
لقد هممت أن آمر المؤذن فيقيم، ثم آمر رجلا يؤم الناس، ثم آخذ شعلا من نار فأحرق على من لا يخرج إلى الصلاة بعد
I intended to order the Mu’adhdhin to call the Adhan, then to command a man to lead the congregation, then to take a flame of fire and burn the houses of those who do not come out to pray.
❀ And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
If there are only three Muslims in a village or forest and they do not maintain congregational prayer, then Satan is imposed upon them. It is obligatory for you to pray in congregation, because a wolf eats a lone sheep (meaning Satan overpowers a lone person).
How many people should there be for congregation?
❀ If there are two people, they should establish congregational prayer. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to Malik bin Al-Huwairith رضي الله عنه and his companion:
إذا حضرت الصلاة فأذنا وأقيما، وليؤمكما أكبركما
When the time for prayer comes, call the Adhan and Iqamah, then the elder of you two should lead the congregation.
❀ If there is only one Muslim, he should also arrange for Adhan and congregation, because the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
إن ربك يعجب من راعي غنم على رأس جبل يؤذن بالصلاة ويقيمها فيصلي، فيقول الله: انظروا إلى عبدي هذا يؤذن ويقيم الصلاة وهو يخافني، قد غفرت له وأدخلته الجنة
Your Lord is very pleased with the shepherd of goats who calls the Adhan on the mountaintop (then says the Iqamah and prays).
Etiquettes of going for prayer:
❀ The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
When you hear the call for Iqamah, come to the prayer calmly and with dignity, do not rush, and pray as much of the prayer in congregation as you can, and complete the rest afterward.
❀ And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
When a person performs ablution properly and then goes towards the mosque, he should not interlock the fingers of one hand with the fingers of the other hand, because he is in prayer.
❀ That is, while going towards the mosque, a person is considered to be in prayer, so he should not do anything that contradicts prayer on the way.
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
When a person enters the mosque, he should pray two rak’ahs before sitting down.
If someone prays any voluntary or obligatory prayer before sitting, then there is no need to pray the greeting of the mosque.
