The Ruling on Congregational Prayer and the Disagreement Therein
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The presenter:
We take a call from Talal in Abha. Please, Talal, go ahead.
The questioner:
Peace be upon you.
The presenter:
And upon you be peace.
The questioner:
I am asking about the ruling on congregational prayer. They say there is disagreement in it, and I do not know what your opinion is on this?
The Shaykh:
My brother, we do not look at the disagreement; we look at the evidence. The evidence is clear regarding the obligation of congregational prayer for the one who is able. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 793Sahih (Darussalam) It was asked: What is the excuse? He said: Fear or illness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to check on those who were absent and say: Sunan Ibn Majah 797Sahih (Darussalam).
He described those who are absent from the congregation without an excuse as hypocrites. This is among the deeds of the hypocrites, and may Allah protect us from that.[An-Nisa 4:142] [At-Tawbah 9:54]. This is among the characteristics of the hypocrites. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sahih Muslim 654b Therefore, it is not permissible to be absent from congregational prayer without an excuse. We say that there is disagreement in this, but the criterion is not the disagreement; the criterion is the evidence. You have no excuse before Allah, and you know the evidence for the obligation of congregational prayer. Yes.
We take a call from Talal in Abha. Please, Talal, go ahead.
The questioner:
Peace be upon you.
The presenter:
And upon you be peace.
The questioner:
I am asking about the ruling on congregational prayer. They say there is disagreement in it, and I do not know what your opinion is on this?
The Shaykh:
My brother, we do not look at the disagreement; we look at the evidence. The evidence is clear regarding the obligation of congregational prayer for the one who is able. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever hears the call and does not come, his prayer is not valid, except for those who have an excuse.
من سمع النداء فلم يأته فلا صلاة له إلا من عذرThe most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the 'Isha' prayer and the Fajr prayer
أَثْقَلَ الصَّلاَةِ عَلَى الْمُنَافِقِينَ صَلاَةُ الْعِشَاءِ وَصَلاَةُ الْفَجْرِHe described those who are absent from the congregation without an excuse as hypocrites. This is among the deeds of the hypocrites, and may Allah protect us from that.
And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily,
وَإِذَا قَامُوا إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ قَامُوا كُسَالَىٰand that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy
وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كُسَالَىٰI have seen the time when no one stayed away from it, except a hypocrite, who was well known for his hypocrisy, whereas a man would be brought swaying (due to weakness) between two men till he was set up in a row.
ولقد رأيتنا وما يتخلف عنها إلا منافق معلوم النفاق ولقد كان الرجل يؤتى به يهادى بين الرجلين حتى يقام في الصف
Source
قناة «مؤسسة الدعوة الخيرية»، فتاوى على الهواء 25-12-1434هـ - الفوزان — youtube.com (1:02:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.