Going to the desert to pray and leaving the congregation
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people say they go to the desert to pray and leave the town, saying, "I want to obtain the virtue mentioned in the texts." Is their action correct?
Answer:
No, this is deliberately leaving the congregation without an excuse. Deliberately leaving the congregation without an excuse is not permissible. That person has an excuse: the shepherd who tends sheep has an excuse, and the one who goes to gather firewood or for a permissible purpose is excused. But making a special effort, saying, "I want to go so that reward is recorded for me," and leaving the congregation for that reason is an effort that Allah has not commanded. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people say they go to the desert to pray and leave the town, saying, "I want to obtain the virtue mentioned in the texts." Is their action correct?
Answer:
No, this is deliberately leaving the congregation without an excuse. Deliberately leaving the congregation without an excuse is not permissible. That person has an excuse: the shepherd who tends sheep has an excuse, and the one who goes to gather firewood or for a permissible purpose is excused. But making a special effort, saying, "I want to go so that reward is recorded for me," and leaving the congregation for that reason is an effort that Allah has not commanded. Yes.
Source
المنتقى من أخبار سيد المرسلين 28-12-1434هـ — af.org.sa (50:00)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.