Hadith 1428

It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I was about to order that firewood be gathered, then order the call to prayer to be made, then appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then go to the men who do not attend the prayer and burn their houses down. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if any one of them knew that he would find a fat bone or two good hooves, he would attend the Isha prayer." [Narrated by Al-Bukhari and a similar narration is found in Muslim] In Al-Mirqah, it is said: "The Hadith indicates the obligation of congregational prayer. The apparent texts of Ash-Shafi'i indicate that it is a communal obligation (Fard Kifayah). I say: The apparent meaning of the Hadith contradicts this, for if it were a communal obligation, those who neglect it would not deserve punishment." Sheikh Ibn Al-Humam said: "There is no doubt that it was established during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his mosque, and yet he said what he said about those who stayed behind and intended to burn their houses. Such a statement was not made about those who missed funerals, even though they were performed by others." Al-'Ayni said: "The obligation of congregational prayer is also indicated by the prayer of fear, which involves actions contrary to prayer, and such actions are not performed for a communal obligation or a Sunnah."