they make you judge in the disputes between them, then find within themselves no discomfort at what you have decided and submit wholeheartedly.”

And His saying, Most High:

“They say, ‘We believe in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey.’ Then a group of them turns away thereafter. Those are not believers.”

And His saying, Most High:

“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then never doubt”—the verse continues.

And His saying:

“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and, when they are with him on a matter of common concern, do not leave until they have sought his permission”—the verse continues. There are many similar examples.

These also include his sayings, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“There is no faith in one who is not trustworthy.”

“There is no prayer without the Opening of the Book.”

“There is no prayer without ablution.”

As for the saying:

“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, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Ishbīlī mentioned that he narrated it through a chain whose narrators were all trustworthy. In any event, it is reported from ‘Alī, may Allah be pleased with him. A similar report, however, appears in the Sunan collections from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“Whoever hears the call and then fails to respond without an excuse has no prayer.”

There is no doubt that this entails that responding to the muezzin’s call and praying in congregation are obligatory, as is established in the Sahīh, where Ibn Umm Maktūm said: