Among the evidences that lend further weight to this position is the rigorously authenticated ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah, in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“By Him in Whose hand is my soul, I had resolved to command that firewood be gathered, then to order that the call to prayer be made, then to appoint a man to lead the people, after which I would go to those men (who stay behind) and burn their houses down upon them. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if any one of them knew that he would find a meaty bone or even two fine morsels, he would surely attend the night prayer (ʿIshāʾ).”
Also adduced is the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd in which he said, “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—taught us the ways of guidance, and part of the ways of guidance is to perform the prayer in the mosque where the call to prayer is given.” In another wording he added, “Were you to abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet, you would surely go astray.”
Accordingly, each of the two camps sought to reconcile the proofs by interpreting the ḥadīth marshalled by the other side and aligning it with the outward sense of the ḥadīth they themselves upheld.
The Ẓāhirīs argued that differing degrees of merit can indeed exist within the very acts that are obligatory. Thus, the congregational prayer, for one upon whom it is individually required, excels the solitary prayer of one from whom the obligation has been lifted because of a valid excuse by the degrees mentioned in the report.
They said: on that basis there is no contradiction between the two ḥadīths, and they cited in support his—peace and blessings be upon him—statement, “The prayer of one who sits is worth half the prayer of one who stands.”
The others claimed that the ḥadīth of the blind man could be understood as referring to the call on the day of Jumuʿah, for that call—by unanimous agreement—must be answered by anyone who hears it. Yet such an interpretation is remote, and Allah knows best, because the text of the ḥadīth itself states that Abū Hurayrah reported:
“A blind man came to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque. Grant me a concession so that I may pray in my house.’ The Messenger of Allah gave him permission, but when he turned away the Prophet called him back and asked, ‘Do you hear the call to prayer?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ The Prophet said, ‘Then respond.’ ”
The apparent sense of this makes it unlikely that the call in question is the call for Jumuʿah, especially since attending the Friday prayer is obligatory for everyone residing in the town even if he does not hear the call, and I know of no difference of opinion on that.
This ḥadīth was further countered by the report of ʿItbān ibn Mālik recorded in the Muwaṭṭaʾ. ʿItbān—who was blind—used to lead the people in prayer and said to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him: “There are times of darkness, rain, and flooding, and I am a man with weak eyesight. O Messenger of Allah, pray in a place within my house so that I may take it as a prayer-space.” The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—came to him and said, “Where would you like me to pray?” ʿItbān pointed to a place in the house, and the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—prayed there.