320 – ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The congregational prayer surpasses the prayer of one who prays alone by twenty-seven degrees.” Agreed upon ⦗1⦘.

Both Imams also relate, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “…by twenty-five portions.” ⦗2⦘

Al-Bukhari likewise transmits it from Abu Saʿid, wording it: “…a degree.” ⦗3⦘

Key Terms in the ḥadith
– al-fadh (with an open fāʾ and a geminated dotted dhāl): the solitary individual; plural fudhūdh. One says, “He became fadh from his companions,” meaning he was left alone.
– afḍal: the elative form on the pattern afʿal, used when two things share a quality yet one exceeds the other in it. Al-ʿAynī notes that most manuscripts of al-Bukhari carry the wording “the superiority of the solitary prayer,” whereas Muslim has afḍal, which conveys comparison and amplifies the shared meaning; it is more emphatic than the phrasing “superiority.”
– daraja (degree): a clarifier for the cited number. The intent is that congregational prayer yields a reward equal to the solitary prayer twenty-seven times over, as found in the other wording, with “portion” understood as “degree.”