The Shaykh's Story About Delaying the First Congregation

The Shaykh : And I ask you to consult an expert about this, because I am one of those people who were tested during their pursuit of knowledge. We were tested by delaying the first congregation. I knew that the mosque where I used to pray was close to my workplace. I was a watchmaker, repairing watches in my shop. The distance between me and the mosque was perhaps fifty meters, no more. I would hear the adhan and say, "Now I will ride this bicycle, or this scooter, or whatever." Sometimes the work would become difficult, as is known in all trades, and I would be delayed. A struggle would arise between my intellect and my nafs (self) that commands evil. My intellect would say, "You are on a scientific path; you will miss the congregational prayer." And my self would say, "Even if I miss it, I will surely find a second congregation." I would also assume in my mind that if I entered the mosque, I would not find anyone to lead the people in the second congregation. So my self would tell me, "You are a student of knowledge. You are not satisfied with your state. You are a student of knowledge; if you do not find an imam, you will lead the prayer yourself." And so I spent years being lax about the congregational prayer. I was not abandoning the congregational prayer, but as I described to you, I would have work in my hands, and little by little, I would go to the mosque, and the prayer would be over. This discussion would continue between my intellect and my self. Finally, when I learned the Sunnah, I learned that there is no second congregation. Either you pray and you gain that virtue we mentioned, which is twenty-seven degrees, or you miss this virtue on one hand, and you become a sinner on the other hand. This is a greater loss, because if a person loses the reward, he is not punished, but the problem is that he is sinful. And whoever sins and commits a sin is punished, unless Allah forgives him. So when it settled in my mind that there is no congregation except the first one, as soon as I hear the adhan, I leave the watch where it is and say, "After I pray, I will return to it." And, praise be to Allah, I rarely miss the first congregational prayer.