Blessings of Khilafat — Page 116
116 It is hard to put in words how careful the Holy Prophet sa was about not missing any of the congregational prayers. Once a blind person came to him and submitted to him that it was very difficult for him to come to the mosque, and that there was nobody who could hold his hand and help him to the mosque. He submitted if he could be permitted to offer the prayers at home. The Holy Prophet sa granted him the permission. But when he was about to leave, the Holy Prophet sa called him back and asked if he could hear the call for the prayers while at his home. He said that he could hear the call. At this, the Holy Prophet sa said, ‘If the call for prayer reaches your place, you should come to the mosque to offer the prayers. ’ In order to further lay stress on this point, the Holy Prophet sa went as far as saying that he wished he could ask someone else to stand in his place to lead the prayer, and then take some of his companions with loads of firewood on their heads and burn down the houses of those who do not show up for the congregational prayers, thus destroying both the houses and the occupants. Behold, the Holy Prophet sa was gracious, noble, kind and beneficent, and yet he wished the houses of those who habitually missed congregational prayers to be burnt down. Surely, this hadith manifestly illustrates the significance of offering prayers in congregation. He specified the Prayers of ‘Ish a and Fajr; the reason is that these two times pose a greater difficulty for a believer. At the time of the ‘Ish a Prayer people show laziness because they are sleepy and in the morning because they find it hard to get up. Considering that the Holy Prophet sa expressed such great concern about these two times, the emphasis upon offering the other prayers in congregation