The Ruling on Absenting Oneself from the Congregational Prayer
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Question:
This questioner asks: What is the ruling on one who absents himself from praying with the congregation? Is there a distinction in this? If it is for an excuse, such as being sick or being far from the mosque such that he cannot reach it except with hardship, and he does not hear the adhan, then he is excused. And if he attends the mosque, that is better.
Answer:
But he is excused if he absents himself, if he does not hear the adhan because of his distance from the mosque, or if he is sick.
He cannot reach the mosque. This one is excused. As for the one who absents himself without an excuse, he is abandoning an obligatory duty, because the congregational prayer is obligatory for men. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was about to order the prayer to be established, then order men with bundles of firewood, then go to men who do not attend the prayer and burn their houses with fire."
And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 797Sahih (Darussalam) And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and between me and the mosque are dogs and full-fed cats. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 552Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani) Sunan Abi Dawud 552Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who makes the call to prayer, even if it is difficult for him."
And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever is pleasedSunan Ibn Majah 777Hasan (Darussalam) (Exalted and Majestic is He) has prescribed for your Prophet the ways of guidance, and these are among the ways of guidance. If you prayed in your homes as this absentee prays in his home, you would have abandoned the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Sunan Ibn Majah 777Hasan (Darussalam) the covenant. And indeed, a man would be brought, supported between two men, until he was placed in the congregation. This is the statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and their attendance at the prayer, and that they do not prostrate in attendance at the prayer except the hypocrites. Does the Muslim accept being with the hypocrites? The Muslim does not accept this. Yes.
This questioner asks: What is the ruling on one who absents himself from praying with the congregation? Is there a distinction in this? If it is for an excuse, such as being sick or being far from the mosque such that he cannot reach it except with hardship, and he does not hear the adhan, then he is excused. And if he attends the mosque, that is better.
Answer:
But he is excused if he absents himself, if he does not hear the adhan because of his distance from the mosque, or if he is sick.
He cannot reach the mosque. This one is excused. As for the one who absents himself without an excuse, he is abandoning an obligatory duty, because the congregational prayer is obligatory for men. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was about to order the prayer to be established, then order men with bundles of firewood, then go to men who do not attend the prayer and burn their houses with fire."
And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the 'Isha' prayer and the Fajr prayer. If only they knew what (reward) there is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.
أثقل الصلوات على المنافقين صلاة العشاء وصلاة الفجر، ولو يعلمون ما فيهما لأتوهما ولو حبوا.Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not respond, he has no prayer except one with an excuse. They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the excuse? He said: Fear or illness. And a blind man came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, and between me and the mosque are crawling insects and full of food.
من سمع النداء فلم يجب فلا صلاة له إلا من عذر قالوا يا رسول الله، وما العذر؟ قال خوف أو مرض. وجاءه رجل أعمى فقال يا رسول الله، ليس لي قائدHe seeks to lead me to the mosque,
يطلبني إلى المسجد،He asked: Do you hear summons (adhan)? He said: Yes.
هل تسمع النداء؟ قال نعم، قال أجب،Do you hear summons (adhan)? He said: Yes.
هل تسمع النداء؟ قال نعم قال أجلDid he not grant him a dispensation
ألم يرخص لهAnd Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever is pleased
to meet Allah tomorrow (i.e. on the Day of Judgment) as a Muslim, let him preserve these five (daily) prayer when the call for them is given, for they are part of the ways
أن يلقى الله غدا مسلما فليحافظ على هؤلاء الصلوات حيث ينادى بهن، فإنهن من سننand if you abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet you will go astray. I remember when no one stayed behind from the prayer except a hypocrite who was known
ولو تركتم سنة نبيكم لضللتم ولقد رأيتنا وما يتخلف عنها إلا منافق معلوم
Source
حكم التخلف عن صلاة الجماعة — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.