in walking—those whose journey to the mosque is the longest. This is because, as previously mentioned, when a person performs his ablution at home and sets out for the mosque, driven by nothing but the prayer, he does not take a single step without Allah raising him one rank and erasing from him one sin. The angels continue to invoke blessings upon him so long as he remains in his place of prayer. Therefore, if your house is far from the mosque yet the distance does not keep you from attending the congregation, your reward surpasses that of the neighbor who lives close by. The one who is nearby has no excuse, for reaching the mosque is easy; whereas the one who is distant might have a valid excuse, yet he overcomes the hardship, makes the effort, comes to the mosque, and prays with the congregation—so his deed is superior.

The author then cites that a person who waits for the prayer in order to offer it with the imam is better than one who prays alone and then goes to sleep. This concerns the ‘Isha’ prayer, for the recommended practice is to delay ‘Isha’ until a third of the night has passed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once led ‘Isha’ when most of the night had gone by and said, “Had it not been burdensome for my community, this would be its time.” Thus, the one who prays by himself and then sleeps because he finds it difficult to wait for the congregation—since they are delaying it—should be told: if you wait and pray with the congregation, it is better.

However, if the imam prays at the customary early time, it is not permissible for anyone to pray alone and then retire, because the congregational prayer is obligatory. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I was about to order that the prayer be established, appoint a man to lead the people, then go with some men carrying bundles of firewood to those who do not attend the prayer and burn their houses down over them.”