Asalam alaykum,
I wonder if there is specific Hadith / Quran verses stated that Muslim men are mandatory to attend masjid for the five times prayer?
What if you are not able to? What are the conditions that apply to it?
What if you are praying at home with your spouse or alone?
What is the consequence of not going masjid for five times prayers as man?
Jazaakalla khair
It is obligatory to attend prayers in congregation at a Mosque as can be seen from the following hadith:
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I was thinking of ordering that wood be gathered, then I would have ordered that the call to prayer be given, then I would have told a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would have gone from behind and burned the houses of men who did not attend the (congregational) prayer down around them. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if any one of them had known that he would get a bone covered with good meat or two sheep’s feet with meat in them, he would have turned up for the ‘Isha’ prayer.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 618; Muslim, 651
From Quran:
1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“When you (O Messenger Muhammad) are among them, and lead them in As-Salaah (the prayer), let one party of them stand up [in Salaah (prayer)] with you taking their arms with them; when they finish their prostrations, let them take their positions in the rear and let the other party come up which have not yet prayed, and let them pray with you”
[al-Nisa’ 4:102]
Ibn al-Mundhir said:
The fact that Allaah has commanded us to establish prayer in congregation even at times of fear indicates that doing so at times of security is even more obligatory.
According to the Sahabas , Prayers of the neighbors of Mosque are not valid except inside the Mosque:
It was also narrated that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever hears the muezzin and does not respond with no excuse, his prayer is not valid.”
It was narrated that Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari said: “Whoever hears the muezzin and does not respond with no excuse, his prayer is not valid.”
It was narrated that ‘Ali said: “There is no prayer for a neighbour of the mosque except in the mosque.” It was said, “Who is the neighbour of the mosque?” He said, “Whoever can hear the muezzin.”
It was narrated that al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not come, his prayer does not go beyond his head, except for one who has an excuse.”
It was narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever among the neighbours of the mosque hears the call to prayer, and he is in good health and does not have any excuse, his prayer is not valid.”
Al-Salaah wa Hukm Taarikiha, p/ 153
Even a blind man who could hear Meuzzin was not given concession:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: A blind man [Ibn Umm Maktoom] came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have no one to lead me to the mosque,” and he asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to grant him a concession allowing him to pray in his house, and he allowed him that. But when he turned away he said, “Can you hear the call to prayer?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Then answer it.” According to a version narrated by Abu Dawood (552) and Ibn Maajah (792) he said: “I do not think there is any concession for you.”
Al-Nawawi said concerning this hadeeth: its isnaad is saheeh or hasan.
Al-Majmoo’, 4/164
Ibn al-Mundhir said:
If there is no concession for a blind man, then it is more appropriate that there should be no concession for one who can see.
So if you have no valid excuse to not go to the Mosque for congregation prayers and you can hear the Muezzin , then prayers at home are not valid as per the above fatwas and hadith.
Apart from the generic view above there are certain cases where prayer in congregation would be frowned upon, or even completely discouraged:
Prayer in a Mosque where the name of other than Allah is invoked or inscribed e.g:(Ya Ali Madad, Ya Khawaja Madad)
'And the mosques are for Allah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with Allah.' [Soorah al-Jinn (72): 18]
Prayer in the state of Janabah (ritual impurity)
Food has been served to the person before the prayer or while badly in need of passing excrement and / or urine.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) in this regard says: “Prayer is not valid when food has been served and when a person is in need of relieving himself of excrement and/or urine” (Reported by Imam Muslim).
Allah Knows Best
After prophets clarify the message of Allah to the last degree and his nation is still defiant, then it is a "sunnah" of Allah that His's wrath (azab) comes on that nation. In Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) case that came by the hands of believers.
As a pre-requisite of it, it was necessary to distinguish between true believers and non-believers. One way to do that was to make congregational prayer compulsary for everyone who claims to be muslim, because it was a very difficult thing for them
As this was a time-specific decision, it does not apply now. Although it is VERY much encouraged to go to Masjid to pray, but it is not a "farz" as praying five times a day is.
