Is it permissible to miss the congregation in gatherings like this when we are not in a mosque?

The questioner : By the way, Shaykh, some people ask: Is it permissible to miss the congregation in gatherings like this when we are not in a mosque?

The Shaykh : ... Do you mean the congregation in the mosque?

The questioner : Yes, indeed.

The Shaykh : Regarding this issue, I used to be keen to avoid it when I was in Damascus, but later I read in the introduction to *Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil* by Ibn Abi Hatim, in the biography of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), or perhaps in another work, in any case in the introduction, that Imam Ahmad and a group of the great scholars of hadith, such as Yahya ibn Ma'in and Ali ibn al-Madini and their like, were gathered when the adhan was called for the midday prayer. Some of those present reminded the gathering of the midday prayer, so Imam Ahmad said, "We are now in a gathering of knowledge, and we will pray, if Allah wills, in congregation." From that point on, it occurred to me that a gathering of knowledge, if it is based on religious law, is considered a legitimate excuse for missing the congregational prayer in the mosque, especially if that congregation involves things that are contrary to the law, as is found in most countries on one hand, and in most mosques in every country on the other hand. The situation in the time of Imam Ahmad was undoubtedly much better than our time today in the mosques, meaning, and yet when I saw him grant a dispensation on the basis of the circle of dhikr and knowledge in which they were gathered, I began from that day to find an excuse for myself, before I grew old, to find an excuse for missing the prayer so that I could pray with the congregation who attended the gathering of dhikr. But now, if I were alone, I would find an excuse for myself not to pray in the mosque except rarely. This is my answer to what you asked, and we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire us with the right in what we do and what we leave.