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If someone stays away from congregational prayer without an excuse, there are two views within the school of Ahmad and elsewhere.

The first is that his prayer is valid, based on the Prophet’s saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“A man’s prayer in congregation surpasses his prayer alone by twenty-five degrees.”

The second is that his prayer is invalid, based on the report in the Sunan collections that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

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

And on his saying:

“One who lives near a mosque has no prayer except in the mosque.”

ʿAbd al-Haqq al-Ishbīlī regarded this report as strong. Moreover, if congregational prayer is obligatory, then whoever omits an obligatory element of prayer has not performed a valid prayer. The hadith concerning its superior merit is understood to refer to circumstances in which there is an excuse, as in his saying:

“The prayer of one who sits is worth half the prayer of one who stands, and the prayer of one who stands is worth half the prayer of