Chapter on the Virtue of Congregational Prayer

Hammad from Hariz from Zurarah and al-Fudayl, they said: We said to him: “Is prayer in congregation an obligation?” He said: “The prayers are obligatory, but gathering (for them) is not made obligatory in all the prayers. Rather, it is a sunnah whoever abandons it out of aversion to it and to the congregation of the believers, without a valid excuse, then he has no prayer.”

Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub from Ali ibn Ibrahim from his father, and from Muhammad ibn Isma’il from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan, both from Hammad ibn Isa from Hariz from Zurarah, he said: Zurarah was sitting one day with Abu Ja’far عليه السلام, peace be upon him, when a man came to him and entered upon Imam عليه السلام. He said to Imam عليه السلام: “May I be your ransom, I am a man who lives next to the mosque of my people. So when I do not pray with them, they speak ill of me and say such-and-such about me.” Imam عليه السلام, peace be upon him, said: “If what you say is true, then indeed the Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام, peace be upon him, said: ‘Whoever hears the call (to prayer) and does not respond to it without a valid excuse, then he has no prayer’.” So the man left, and Imam Abu Ja’far عليه السلام, peace be upon him, said to him: “Do not abandon the prayer with them, and (pray) behind every imam (of prayer).” When the man left, I said to Imam عليه السلام: “May I be your ransom, your words to this man when he asked you a legal question weighed heavily upon me. What if they are not believers?” Imam عليه السلام, peace be upon him, laughed and said: “It seems, O’ Zurarah, that you are still here (meaning, still thinking at a surface level). What reason do you seek greater than the fact that he is not to be followed in prayer?” Then Imam عليه السلام said: “O’ Zurarah, what do you think I meant?” I said: “(That you meant) Pray in your mosques and pray with your imams.” (meaning the faithful should establish their own communities of prayer led by legitimate, believing prayer leaders from among them)

Al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from al-Nadr ibn Suwayd from Abdullah ibn Sinan from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, he said: Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام said: “The prayer in congregation surpasses every individual prayer by twenty-four degrees making it twenty-five prayers.”

And from him, from al-Nadr, from Abdullah ibn Sinan, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, he said: I heard Imam عليه السلام say: “The Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, prayed the dawn prayer. Then, He صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم turned his face to his companions and asked about some people, mentioning them by their names. Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: ‘Did they attend the prayer?’ They (companions) said: ‘No, O’ Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.’ Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: ‘Are they absent?’ They said: ‘No.’ Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: ‘Indeed, there is no prayer more burdensome upon the hypocrites than this (Fajr) prayer and the evening prayer. And if they knew what virtue is in them, they would come to them even if crawling.’”

And from him, from al-Nadr, from Ibn Sinan, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, he said: I heard Imam عليه السلام say: “Indeed, there were people during the time of the Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, who were slow in attending the prayer in the mosque. So the Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, said: ‘A time will soon come when people will abandon the prayer in the mosque, and we may command that wood be gathered and placed at their doors, then a fire would be kindled upon them, and their houses would be burned over them.’”

Sa’ad from Abu Ja’far from al-Abbas ibn Ma‘ruf from Ali ibn Mahziyar from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hamid from Muhammad ibn Umarah, he said: I sent to Abu al-Hasan al-Ridha عليه السلام, peace be upon him, asking Imam عليه السلام about a man who performs the obligatory prayer alone in the Mosque of Kufah is that better, or is his prayer in congregation better? Imam عليه السلام said: “Prayer in congregation is better.”