The wisdom behind the prohibition of establishing a second congregation in the mosque

The Shaykh : And the wisdom behind this, which I mentioned earlier, is that this second and third congregation leads to the dispersal of the first congregation. The clearest example of this is the Friday prayer. Because it is established in people's minds that the Friday prayer is not repeated in the mosque, you find them hastening to pray in the main mosque. This is undoubtedly a strong reason for mosques to become crowded with worshippers on Friday day, because it is established in their minds that there is no second congregation in any of the main mosques where the Friday prayer is held. I say this without forgetting that those who care about performing the Friday prayer are undoubtedly more than those who care about performing the congregational prayer, because many people, unfortunately, are content with just the Friday prayer each week. However, it is observed that if they had in their minds that there was a second congregation, they would also delay. So this is a real, observed, and tangible matter, felt by hand. This is one of the effects of bad ideas when they settle in the hearts of their owners; they drive their owners to things that contradict the Shari'ah of their Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He. Therefore, it is obligatory for every Muslim to correct, above all else, his creed and his concepts in Islam with a correct correction, so that his starting point is also a correct starting point. This example is before you. Whoever says in his heart that there is no second congregation rarely, rarely, misses the first congregational prayer. And the opposite is exactly the opposite: the one who says in his heart that there is a second and third congregation is negligent regarding the first congregation. And I ask an expert about this, because I am one of those people who were afflicted during their pursuit of knowledge with being late for the first congregation. I knew that the mosque where I used to pray was close to my workplace. I was a man who repaired clocks; my shop was, perhaps, no more than fifty meters from the mosque. I would hear the adhan and say, "Now I will wind the spring, I will wind the escapement," and so on. Sometimes the work becomes difficult, as is known in all trades, so I would delay. There would be a struggle between the intellect and the soul that commands evil. The soul would say, "It is permissible for you to miss the congregational prayer this way, and even if I miss it, I will surely find a second congregation." I would also assume in my heart that if I entered the mosque, I would not find anyone to lead the people in the second congregation. So my soul would say to 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 pray as an imam." And thus I spent years being negligent of the congregational prayer. I was not abandoning the congregational prayer, but as I described to you, I would have some work in my hand, a little and a little and a little, and then I would go to the mosque, and the prayer would be over. So this discussion would occur between the intellect and the soul. Finally, when I knew the Sunnah, I knew the Sunnah that there is no second congregation. Either you pray and you obtain the virtue we mentioned, twenty-seven degrees, or you miss this virtue on one hand and become sinful 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 heart that there is no congregation except the single one, as soon as I hear the adhan, I leave the clock in its place and say, "After I pray, I will return to it." And so it is.