On whom the congregational prayer is obligatory and the ruling on abandoning it

Question:
This brother Ahmad al-Mahmud from Riyadh says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the distance that makes it obligatory to pray in the mosque? And is praying in the mosque permissible? I have heard and read that praying even at home is permissible without the congregation. Please guide us in light of this question, may you be rewarded.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, attending the mosque is not determined by a specific distance, but rather by hearing the adhan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the determining factor is hearing the adhan. When Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, the blind man, came to him seeking a dispensation to pray in his home due to the hardship he faced on his way to the mosque, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: Do you hear the call? He said: Yes. He said: Then respond, in one narration, for I find no dispensation for you. The criterion is hearing the adhan. As for the congregational prayer, it is an obligatory duty (fard) upon every Muslim individually. It is not permissible for a Muslim who hears the call and has no excuse preventing him from attending to be absent; he must attend. This is a matter on which there is near consensus, especially among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). So much so that one of them, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), said: Therefore, no one is permitted to abandon the congregation if he is able to attend it. Some journalists or some pretenders to knowledge have caused trouble in these days by claiming that the congregational prayer is not obligatory, as the questioner mentioned, and that people pray in their homes. This contradicts the evidence, and indeed contradicts the consensus. And, praise be to Allah, a statement was issued by the Permanent Committee in response to this erroneous idea. Yes.