The Ruling on One Who Trivializes the Congregational Prayer and Calls for the Free Mixing of Men and Women

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Many questions have come in on one topic. They say: There are those who trivialize the congregational prayer, claiming it is only a recommended practice, and who say that shops should not be closed during the prayer. They also call for the free mixing of men and women. What is the ruling on such statements and the call to them?

Answer:
They say many things with the aim of destroying the rulings of Islam and destroying virtues and obligations. They say: This is the characteristic of hypocrites in every time and place. If the opportunity presents itself and they are not prevented, they will corrupt the situation.
So, these people are not to be paid attention to, and their words are not to be taken seriously. The congregational prayer is obligatory for every Muslim, individually, for men. It is not valid for him to pray in his house except for an excuse. It was asked: What is the excuse? He said: Fear or illness. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He has no prayer. And you say: I will not pray, I will not come, and I will not answer the mu'adhdhin. This is disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, no account is taken of the words of these people. They want something other than the congregational prayer. They spoke about many rulings of the Shari'ah, wanting to destroy them.
They want to destroy them, and they want Islam to be merely a name, without deeds and without anything else. Yes.