On the Obligation of Regularly Observing Salah with the Congregation in the Masjid

[Majmoo 'al-Fataawa Ibn Baaz, Vol.: 15; pp. 107- 108]

Q: Praise be to Allah that many people offer Salah (Prayer) regularly in the mosque during the month of Ramadan, but we miss those people after this blessed month comes to an end. What advice can you give to these people, may Allah bless you!

A: My advice to all Muslim males is that they should offer Salah regularly with the congregation in the mosque at all times, as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stated: "(Whoever hears the Adhan (the call to prayer) and does not come to it (the prayer), there is no prayer for him except with (a legally valid) excuse)."

Also, when Ibn ‘Abbas (رضی اللہ عنھما) was asked about the valid excuse, he said it is fear or illness. "There came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) a blind man and said, "O, Messenger of Allah! I have no one to guide me to the mosque". He, therefore, asked the Prophet's permission to perform the Salah at home. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked him, "Do you hear the call to prayer?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "Respond to it, then." Related by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (authentic) Book of Hadith.

This also based on the Prophet's (صلى الله عليه وسلم) also saying, "l was going to order that the Salah (prayer) be commenced, then order a man to lead the people in Salah, then I would go with some men carrying bundles of wood to a people not attending the Salah and burn down their houses over them." Besides, Ibn Mas'ud (رضی اللہ  عنه) said, "None of us would be absent from the congregational Salah, with the exception of hypocrites and the sick".

Thus, it is obligatory for every Muslim to fear Allah and offer Salah with the congregation in the mosque due to these Sahih (authentic) Hadiths. May Allah grant us success!