their destruction.” Allah Most High also says:

“The mosques of Allah are maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer”—and the rest of the verse.

In al-Tirmidhī, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said:

“If you see a man frequenting the mosque, bear witness to his faith, for Allah Most High says: ‘The mosques of Allah are maintained only by those who believe in Allah’—and the rest of the verse.”

Allah Most High says:

“Say: ‘My Lord has commanded justice,’ and turn your faces toward Him at every place of worship”—and the rest of the verse.

Allah Most High also says:

“The mosques belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone alongside Allah.”

And Allah Most High says:

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be raised and in which His name is mentioned”—and the rest of the verse.

Allah Most High also says:

“Do not have sexual relations with them while you are staying in the mosques for worship.”

In the two Sahīh collections, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said:

“A man’s prayer in the mosque is twenty-five degrees superior to his prayer in his home or marketplace.” Another wording reads: “Congregational prayer is twenty-five degrees superior to the prayer any one of you offers individually.”

In the Sahīh collection, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said:

“The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the night prayer and the dawn prayer. If they knew what reward they hold, they would come to them even if they had to crawl. I have indeed considered ordering the prayer to be commenced, then appointing a man to lead the people in prayer, and then setting out with men carrying bundles of firewood to people who do not attend the prayer, and burning their houses down upon them.”

In Sahīh Muslim, Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“A blind man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque.’ He asked Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to allow him to pray at home, so he granted permission