Is praying in a Mosque Fard?

Question

Asalam-o-Alaikum My dear brothers,

The country I currently live in does not allow for a Call to prayers to be made, therefore according to the below hadith, is my prayer Invalid at home or is it valid because i could not hear the call to prayer?

It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not come, there is no prayer for him [i.e., his prayer is not valid], unless he has an excuse.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, al-Daaraqutni, Ibn Hibbaan and al-Haakim with a saheeh isnaad. It was said to Ibn ‘Abbaas, what is an excuse? He said, Fear or sickness.

I know that I will receive much greater deeds if I pray in a mosque and in congregation but this is very difficult in this country.

just to re-assure my heart, am I doing wrong by praying at home?

Answer 1

My brother,

There is nothing wrong with praying without hearing the call to prayer. You can in your house, offer the azan and then offer prayer at the appointed time.

Yes, as you have mentioned it is preferred to pray in jammat (congregation) but there is nothing that prayers are not accepted if you pray and haven't heard the call to prayer.

The hadees refers to those who hear the call to prayer, have access to a jammat (congregation) but then do not go and they do not have a valid reason.

Note - its about the jammat; not the mosque. You can offer prayer in jammat anywhere more than one muslim gather.

Answer 2

walaikum salam

The Prophet is reported to have said =

مَنْ سَمِعَ النِّدَاءَ فَلَمْ يَأْتِهِ فَلاَ صَلاَةَ لَهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ عُذْرٍ

"Whoever hears the call and does not come, has no prayer, unless there is excuse."

(Sunan ibn Majah)

So it's obligatory to pray in Jamaah if you hear the adhan for the prayer.

But if you don't hear the adhan, then it's not fard to pray in jamaah and praying alone at home, or wherever, is fine. However, praying in Jamaah has 27 times more reward.

Answer 3

Salams brother,

I myself was in Sweden and faced the kind of difficulty you are talking about. First thing is you should try to do the right thing first and that is you try to go to this only mosque that is on the remote outskirts of the city. If for a good reason you cannot go to the mosques than i guess Allah will definitely accept that you prayed at home instead.

Like i'll give you an example, i just had real high fever Friday early morning and now two hours before Jummuah its like raining so bad, i can't go walking for 10 minutes to the bus stop without getting wet which means getting sick again. So i'm going to pray at home.

Then some friday's the duty calls, they want you to go since the other guy is not there due to whatever reason so you will have to excuse yourself its not totally in your hands and simply arguing with your boss over one friday or two friday's in a month is not really being peaceful and understanding of a Brother or Sister.

But please note every prayer is best to be offered in congregration, so i guess lookout for muslims in your neighbourhood and try to pray together. And Allah knows best.