As for his statement, “There is no prayer for one who lives near the mosque except in the mosque,” it has been said that this wording is not reliably preserved from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Abd al-Haqq al-Ishbīlī stated that it was narrated with a chain whose transmitters are all trustworthy. In any event, it is related from Alī, may Allah be pleased with him. However, there is a corresponding report in the Sunan from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in which he said: “Whoever hears the call to prayer and then fails to answer it without an excuse has no prayer.”

There is no doubt that this entails that answering the muezzin’s summons and praying in congregation are obligatory duties. It is likewise established in the Sahīh that Ibn Umm Maktūm said: “O Messenger of Allah, I live a considerable distance away, and I have a guide who does not suit me. Can you grant me a concession to pray in my home?” He asked, “Do you hear the call to prayer?” He replied, “Yes.” He said, “I find no concession for you.”

Yet if a person neglects this obligation, is he punished for neglecting it while being rewarded for the prayer he performed? Or should it be said that his prayer is invalid and that he must repeat it, as though he had not performed it at all?

The scholars disagree concerning this.

Consistent with this is the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “When you have done this, your prayer is complete; whatever you omit from this merely detracts from your prayer.”

He thus made clear that the perfection being denied is precisely the completeness mentioned by