The Excellence Of Offering Prayer In The Congregation (With Jamaat)

The Holy Prophet has said: “The Prayer in congregation is twenty-seven times superior to the prayer offered by a person alone.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

The Holy Prophet found some people absenting themselves from specific Prayers and he said: “I intend to order someone to lead people in Prayer, and then go to the persons who do not join the (congregational) Prayer and then order their houses to be burnt by the bundles of fuel. If one amongst them were to know that he would find a fat fleshy bone he would attend the Night Prayer.” (Muslim & Abu Dawood)

Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet said: “A man’s prayer in congregation is more valuable by twenty degrees and some above them as compared with his Prayer in his house and his market, for when he performs ablution doing it well, then goes out to the mosque, and he is impelled (to do so) only by (the love of congregational) Prayer, he has no other objective before him but Prayer. He does not take a step without being raised a degree for it and having a sin remitted for it, till he enters the mosque. When he is busy in Prayer after having entered the mosque, the angels continue to invoke blessing on him as long as he is in his place of worship saying: O Allah, show him mercy, and pardon him !! Accept his repentance (and the angels continue this supplication for him) so long as he does not do any harm in it, or as long as his ablution is not broken.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet said: “If anyone hears him who makes the call to Prayer and is not prevented from joining the congregation by any excuse (he was asked what an excuse consisted of and replied that it was fear or illness) the Prayer he offers will not be accepted from him.” (Abu Dawood)

If the one who misses the congregational Prayer knew what reward lay in it for him, he would come to it slithering. (Tibrani)