Is It Obligatory to Pray in Congregation at the Masjid?
For men, the majority of scholars hold it strongly emphasised, and a significant group holds it obligatory. All agree it carries twenty-seven times the reward of praying alone.
This comes up often enough that it is worth setting out the evidence rather than only the conclusion.
The evidence
The Prophet ﷺ considered burning down the houses of those who did not attend (Sahih al-Bukhari 644) — the severity of which the Hanbalis and others took as indicating obligation.
He did not excuse the blind man Ibn Umm Maktum, who had no guide, when he heard the call to prayer.
The twenty-seven-fold multiplication is agreed upon and is the encouragement all schools cite.
In practice
- Fajr and ‘Isha carry the strongest emphasis in the narrations.
- Genuine excuses — illness, severe weather, fear — are recognised in the texts.
- Congregation at home with family carries the congregational reward where the masjid is inaccessible.
Knowledge that is not acted on has a name in the tradition, and it is not a flattering one. Pick the smallest applicable step.
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Yes — the majority of scholars permit combining Dhuhr with ‘Asr and Maghrib with ‘Isha while travelling, and it is authentically established from the Sunnah.
What Is the Ruling on Missed Prayers From Years of Not Praying?
Scholars differ. The majority hold that missed prayers are made up; a significant group holds that prayers abandoned deliberately cannot be made up and require sincere repentance and abundant voluntary prayer instead.
How Do I Pray if I Cannot Stand?
Pray sitting; if you cannot sit, lying on your side; if you cannot, then by indication. The obligation does not lift, only the form changes.
What Is the Correct Way to Perform the Funeral Prayer?
Four takbirs standing, with no ruku‘ or sujud: al-Fatihah after the first, salah upon the Prophet ﷺ after the second, supplication for the deceased after the third, and the salam after the fourth.