ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Radiance of the Secrets of Prayer Congregational Prayer {salat al-jama‘ah}, Etc. The religion of Islam has a significant social dimension, and it has relied on and emphasized this dimension in many of its programs through the blessed effects of unity, solidarity and consistency. The holding of the daily obligatory prayers in congregation is one of these programs.

In this chapter, we shall deal with the importance of congregational prayer { salat al-jama‘ah } and its various effects.

Importance of congregational prayer {salat al-jama‘ah} Great rewards for congregational prayer have been mentioned in the hadith s, some of which have been cited below: The Messenger of Allah (S) is reported to have said: “The prayer of one who hears the adhan but does not participate in the congregational prayer of Muslims for no (justifiable) reason at all is worthless.”[^1] It is stated in a hadith that disparaging congregational prayer is tantamount to disparaging God.[^2] Constant participation in congregational prayer saves a person from becoming a hypocrite { munafiq }.[^3] And there are rewards for every step taken toward congregational prayer and the mosque.[^4] The person who goes out of his house to participate in congregational prayer and waits in the mosque for it, gets the reward of a person who is engaged in prayer for the entire period.[^5] The more the people present in congregational prayer, the more its reward.

This is a statement of the Messenger of Allah (S) who said: “That which is greater (in number) is more beloved by Allah.”[^6] There is an interesting hadith pertaining to the virtue of congregational prayer, a part of which has been mentioned in treatises on practical laws { risalah al-‘amaliyyah }.

The following is a translation of the whole hadith : If there is one person { ma’mum } following the prayer leader { imam }, the reward of the prayer (compared to that which is done individually) is 150 times. For two persons, the reward is 600 times. For three, the reward is 1,200 times. For four, the reward is 2,400 times. For five, the reward is 4,800 times. For six, the reward is 9,600 times. For seven, the reward is 19,200 times. For eight, the reward is 36,400 times.

If the followers and the prayer leader are 10 in all, the reward of the prayer is 72,800.