In the gatherings of knowledge, we hear the call to prayer and remain in the gathering without responding to the call, especially for the 'Isha' prayer, and many people say

The questioner : Regarding the congregation, I say that in the gatherings of knowledge, we hear the call, which means we remain in the gathering and do not respond to the call, especially for the 'Isha' prayer. Many people have pointed this out to us, asking specifically why we do not respond to the call. I hope you will clarify and explain this, particularly regarding the 'Isha' prayer?

The Shaykh : From the perspective of the ruling, there is no difference between the 'Isha' prayer and the other prayers, because responding to the mu'adhdhin in every obligatory prayer of the five is an individual obligation, just like the prayer itself, as He, the Exalted, said: . It is not permissible to be absent from attending the congregational prayer except for a valid Islamic excuse. After this brief introduction to the answer, we say: The question arises whether the gathering of people in a session of knowledge is considered a valid Islamic excuse for being absent from the congregational prayer. There is no doubt that we do not have a text from the Book of Allah or from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from which it can be derived that listening to knowledge is an excuse. Personally, I spent many years such that if we were in a lesson and the prayer time arrived, we would leave for the mosque and interrupt the lesson. This continued until I saw a sound report in the "Introduction to al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil" by Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, narrated from the imams, Imam Ahmad, Ali ibn al-Madini, and others among the imams of hadith and jurisprudence, that "they were gathered together when the time for the Zuhr prayer arrived and they were reminded of it. Imam Ahmad himself (may Allah have mercy on him) responded by saying, 'We are currently in a session of knowledge.'" It is clear from this response that the scholarly session is considered an excuse for being absent from performing the prayer with the congregation in the mosque, and that they should make up for it by praying in congregation in that session. After seeing this report, and since I have no doubt about my strong trust in these imams and their understanding and jurisprudence, I began to take the dispensation. So if the lesson does not end with the adhan, for example, and I still have a remainder, I continue in the lesson until it ends, and then we pray in congregation in the same place. This is all that can be brought as an answer to this question. However, there is no doubt that the lesson that can be considered an excuse for being absent from performing the congregational prayer in the mosque is the lesson that relates to the study of the Book and the Sunnah, and not any other lesson. This is what I can say in answer to that question. Please proceed.