The Shaykh’s explanation of the congregation that has the virtue of twenty-seven degrees.
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The Shaykh : It is necessary here to draw attention to a matter in which the scholars have differed in the past. The position of the Salaf is what clarifies the disagreement and resolves it, namely the understanding of the congregation that has this virtue Sunan Ibn Majah 788Sahih (Darussalam) and in the other wording Muwatta Malik 8:1. Is this congregational prayer every congregational prayer held in any mosque at any time, or is it a single congregation that does not repeat or multiply? There is disagreement on this issue, and the stronger position, when the evidence for the issue is reviewed, is that the congregation with this virtue is the first congregation, the one that prays behind the regular imam. It is not sufficient for it to merely be the first congregation, for a group might come to the mosque in a hurry, start the prayer, step forward, and encroach upon the regular imam, praying as a congregation, then leaving, after which the regular, official congregational prayer is held. In that case, that congregation is not the first one with this virtue, because it is a transgressing, encroaching congregation upon the regular congregation. The congregation with this virtue is the first congregation, and the congregation restricted to the imam who was appointed as the imam for this mosque.
This first congregation is the one that has this virtue of twenty-seven degrees. It is not the first one that precedes the regular congregation, nor is it the second, third, fourth, or any subsequent one that follows the regular congregation. The evidence for this restriction is the practical reality of communal life during the time of the Prophethood and the Message, and during the time of the righteous Salaf.
the prayer of a man in congregation
صلاة الرجل في جماعةPrayer in congregation is better than the prayer of a man by himself by twenty-seven degrees.
صلاة الجماعة تفضل صلاة الفذ بسبع وعشرين درجةThis first congregation is the one that has this virtue of twenty-seven degrees. It is not the first one that precedes the regular congregation, nor is it the second, third, fourth, or any subsequent one that follows the regular congregation. The evidence for this restriction is the practical reality of communal life during the time of the Prophethood and the Message, and during the time of the righteous Salaf.