Is it permissible to pray in congregation at home even though the mosque is nearby?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A neighbor of ours says that sometimes his friends gather at his house, and when the time for prayer comes, he says, "We will pray at home; there is no need to go out to the mosque, even though it is close." He cites the hadithSunan Ibn Majah 567Sahih (Darussalam). Is our prayer valid in his house? Please note that he is a religion teacher at one of our secondary schools, and he is more knowledgeable than most.
Answer:
It is not permissible to pray at home, even if you are in congregation. Rather, you must attend and respond to the call. If you hear the adhan, you must respond, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: or as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
The statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "I wish I could see a mosque and a place of purification," does not mean that people should leave the mosques. If that were the intention, I would not have needed to build mosques. It was said to him, "They are all mosques," so there would be no need to build mosques. The one who said this hadith is the one who ordered the building of mosques, and he is the one who ordered attending them. He is the one who threatened the hypocrites who lag behind in the mosques by burning their houses in the Fire, even though it is possible that they are establishing prayer in their homes, establishing congregation in their homes. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept that; rather, he threatened them with burning in the Fire, even though it is possible that they are praying in congregation in their homes. The decisive point is that attendance at the mosques is necessary. And this person who told you this statement is wrong. And unfortunately, he is a teacher. A teacher is a role model. He must fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and not be a caller to negligence and laziness regarding the mosques. Rather, he must be a good role model and a fine example, and the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is to attend the mosque. Yes.
A neighbor of ours says that sometimes his friends gather at his house, and when the time for prayer comes, he says, "We will pray at home; there is no need to go out to the mosque, even though it is close." He cites the hadith
the earth has been made for me a place of worship and a means of purification.
جعلت لي الأرض مسجدا وطهوراAnswer:
It is not permissible to pray at home, even if you are in congregation. Rather, you must attend and respond to the call. If you hear the adhan, you must respond, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever hears the call and does not respond has no prayer for him, except one who has an excuse. They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the excuse? He said: Fear or illness.
من سمع النداء فلم يجب فلا صلاة له إلا من عذر، قالوا يا رسول الله، ما العذر؟ قال خوف أو مرض،The statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "I wish I could see a mosque and a place of purification," does not mean that people should leave the mosques. If that were the intention, I would not have needed to build mosques. It was said to him, "They are all mosques," so there would be no need to build mosques. The one who said this hadith is the one who ordered the building of mosques, and he is the one who ordered attending them. He is the one who threatened the hypocrites who lag behind in the mosques by burning their houses in the Fire, even though it is possible that they are establishing prayer in their homes, establishing congregation in their homes. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept that; rather, he threatened them with burning in the Fire, even though it is possible that they are praying in congregation in their homes. The decisive point is that attendance at the mosques is necessary. And this person who told you this statement is wrong. And unfortunately, he is a teacher. A teacher is a role model. He must fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and not be a caller to negligence and laziness regarding the mosques. Rather, he must be a good role model and a fine example, and the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is to attend the mosque. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تجوز الصلاة جماعة في المنزل بالرغم من أنه المسجد قريب؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.