Boycotting the one who lags behind the congregation and the statement of those who say it is a recommended practice

Question:
He said: If there is a disputed issue, such as the disagreement over the obligation of the congregational prayer, and the view that it is a recommended practice (sunnah) is held by the great scholars, then if one of my relatives or neighbors lags behind it, I boycott him and cut off relations with him, even though the issue is disputed, or

Answer:
Yes, because the correct view is that it is obligatory, and the view that it is a recommended practice (sunnah) is the weaker position. The Imams did not say it is a recommended practice (sunnah) in the sense used by the later scholars, where a recommended practice (sunnah) is what one is rewarded for doing and not punished for leaving. For them, the term "recommended practice" (sunnah) is broader than this and includes the obligatory. The "recommended practice" (sunnah) according to the early scholars includes the obligatory recommended practice, and some of them call it a confirmed recommended practice (sunnah muakkadah). A confirmed recommended practice (sunnah muakkadah) according to the early scholars is equivalent to what we call obligatory. The matter here is not absolute; if "recommended practice" (sunnah) means that one who does it gets a reward and one who leaves it commits no sin, that is not the case at all according to the early scholars. This only occurred among the later scholars.