Is praying in congregation obligatory?
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
As Salaam O Alaikum,
I wonder who introduced my name to your mailing list; however, this is the most
desirable "uninvited mail" I receive.
Could you explain the meaning of "IqamusSalaat"
as it is mentioned in Quraan. The literary meaning could be taken as "erect or
constitute Salaah" which is different from an
order to “pray” Salaah, as it usually taken in
general sense.
Does it mean to pray in congregation? If it does then what is the significance
of praying at home alone?
Obviously we are taking about obligatory prayers not Voluntary prayers.Your comments please.
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Is praying in congregation
obligatory?
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Statement: I wonder who
introduced my name to your mailing list; however, this is the most desirable
"uninvited mail" I receive.
Beloved
brother, we think we should accept your above
statement as a compliment! May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the
Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our
humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. We humbly hope, beg,
and pray the Merciful Lord
accepts our humble and weak efforts,
forgives us our shortcomings, and
saves you, us, and all the believers
from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.
Your Question: Could you explain
the meaning of "IqamusSalaat" as it is
mentioned in Quraan. The literary meaning could be
taken as "erect or constitute Salaah" which
is different from an order to “pray” Salaah, as it
usually taken in general sense.
Because of the inherent deficiency of the English language, it so often happens
that the vast meaning of the Arabic term cannot be expressed with all its
manifestations in English. The closest
meaning to the Quranic term ‘Iqamus
Salaah’ would be to ‘establish prayer’, which would include the making of mosques,
appointment of the imam to lead the prayer, appointment of the exact times of
prayer, hold congregational prayer, etc.
Basically ‘Iqamus Salaah’
would mean to establish a system whereby congregational prayer would be held.
Islam has
made this duty of establishing and making a system for establishing prayer on
the Islamic government (if any), or the muslim
society, or the muslim Ummah
in general.
Your Question: Does it mean to
pray in congregation? If it does then what is the significance of praying at
home alone?
Performing the prayers in congregation is a Sunnah Mu'akkadah (preferred Sunnah) of
the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Ibn 'Umar reports that
the Prophet (saws) said: "Prayer in congregation is superior to a prayer
performed individually by twenty-seven degrees."
Related by al-Bukhari and
Muslim.
It would
obviously be preferred and best that the believers offer their obligatory
prayers in the Mosques; and if that is not possible, then the next best thing
is to offer it in congregation with the brothers wherever one is; and if even
that is not possible, the absolute last legal option is to offer it alone.
Abu Hurairah also reports that the
Prophet (saws) said: "By Him in whose Hand is my soul! I have considered ordering a fire to be
kindled and then ask someone to lead the people in salah,
and then go to the men [who did not attend the prayer] and burn their houses
over them."
Related by al-Bukhari and
Muslim.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.626 Narrated
by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "No prayer is harder for the
hypocrites than the Fajr and the 'Isha'
prayers and if they knew the reward for these prayers at their respective
times, they would certainly present themselves (in the mosques) even if they
had to crawl." The Prophet (saw)
added, "Certainly I decided to order the Mu'adhdhin
(call-maker) to pronounce Iqama and order a man to
lead the prayer, and then take a fire flame to burn all those who had not left
their houses so far for the prayer, along with their houses."
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
one of the noble companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) says: "If
anyone would like to meet Allah tomorrow as a Muslim, he should persevere in observing
these five prayers whenever the call for them is made, for Allah has chosen for
your Prophet (saws) the way of right guidance. And the [five prayers in
congregation] are part of this right guidance. If you were to pray them in your
houses, as this man who stays behind in his house, you would be leaving a Sunnah of your Prophet.
If you leave the Sunnah of your Prophet
(saws), you would go astray. Verily, I
have seen a time when no one stayed away from them [the congregational prayers]
except for the hypocrites, who were well known for their hypocrisy. A man would
be brought, supported by two people [due to his weakness] until he was placed
in a row."
Related by Muslim.
Abu Hurairah reports that a blind man
said to the Prophet (saws): "O Messenger of Allah (saws), I have no guide
to guide me to the mosque." He
asked the Prophet (saws)
for permission to pray in his house and the Prophet gave it to
him. Then, when he turned to go, the Prophet (saws) called him and said:
"Do you hear the call to prayer?" The blind man said "yes."
The Prophet (saws) then said: "Then respond to it!" [by coming to the mosque.]
Related by Muslim.
Abu ad-Darda' reports that the
Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If there are three men in a village or
desert and salah is not established among them, then
the Satan takes mastery over them. So be with the congregation since the wolf
devours the remote (stray) sheep."
Related by Abu Dawud
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,