These scholars responded to the hadith concerning the superiority of congregational prayer by saying that it applies to someone with a valid excuse, such as illness. It is comparable to the Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“The prayer of one who sits is worth half the prayer of one who stands, and the prayer of one who lies down is worth half the prayer of one who sits.”

His declaring a man’s prayer in congregation superior to his prayer alone is like his declaring prayer standing superior to prayer sitting. It is well known that standing is obligatory in obligatory prayers, but not in voluntary prayers, just as congregation is obligatory for obligatory prayers, but not for voluntary prayers.

To discuss this more fully: scholars differed over this hadith, holding two views as to whether the two reports concern someone with a valid excuse or someone without one.

One group said that they concern someone without a valid excuse. They argued that someone with a valid excuse receives his full reward, citing the report established in the two Sahīh collections from Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When a servant falls ill or travels, the deeds he used to perform while healthy and resident are recorded for him.”

They said: If the sick person and the traveller have recorded for them what they used to do while healthy and resident, how can the prayer of someone with a valid excuse, performed sitting or alone, be inferior to his prayer seated in congregation?

These scholars understood the superiority of prayer standing to concern voluntary prayers, not obligatory prayers, because standing is obligatory in obligatory prayers. Whoever adopts this view must consequently allow a healthy person to perform voluntary prayers lying down, since it is established that he said:

“Whoever prays sitting receives half the reward of one who stands.”

Indeed,