.png "The law and the virtues of praying in congregation")
Muslimcreed.com – Worship is obligatory for someone who adheres to a religion. In Islam, prayer is an obligatory act of worship for the people. There are 5 obligatory prayers in Islam, namely, Isha, Fajr, Zuhur, Asr, and Maghrib. Prayers can also be performed individually and in congregation, but also have a different reward value, namely congregational prayers will get more rewards than performing the prayers alone.
Before knowing some of the virtues of praying in congregation, what you need to know first is what are the commands for praying in congregation in the Al-Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet. In this case, there are two views of scholars regarding the law of congregational prayer. According to Jumhur ulama, it is a muakad sunnah, while according to Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal congregational prayers are obligatory.
It should be noted that the Prophet always performed the congregational prayers and never left them.
The Law of Congregational Prayer
It is important for us to know what is the ruling on praying together. There are several rules in holding congregational prayers that you must pay attention to. This congregational prayer can be fardhu ain, fardhu kifayah, sunnah, even haram. The following is an explanation of the law of congregational prayer.
1. Fardhu Ain’s Law
Specifically, the law states that Friday prayers must be performed in congregation, specifically for men. Therefore, if it is not performed in congregation, then the prayer will not be valid.
2. Fardhu Kifayah’s Law
Fardhu kifayah is a collective obligation, namely when there are people who pray in congregation, the obligations of other communities are reduced. Vice versa, if no one prays in congregation then the whole community will be sinned.
3. Sunnah Law
Prayers can have sunnah laws that are carried out in congregation, such as Eid prayers, Eid al-Adha, Istiwa and others.
4. The Law of Makruh
Congregational prayers can also be considered makruh if the prayer is performed with a wicked priest.
5. The Law of Mubah
Congregational prayers may get permissible law, which is about prayers that are not required to pray in congregation. Such as the Duha prayer and the caretaker prayer or before and after the prayer.
6. Khilaful Ula Law
Khilaful Ula is when there is a difference of intention between the imam and the congregation. For example, the imam intends to perform the regular prayer instead of making up, but the next congregation intends to perform the qadha prayer, or vice versa.
7. Haram Law
Congregational prayers are forbidden if they are on confiscated land, or obtained in an illegal way, as a result, the prayers performed may become invalid.
The Importance of Congregational Prayer
Congregational prayer certainly has virtue in it. Here are the virtues of praying together.
1. Get Multiple Rewards
The first virtue, of course, we will receive a double reward. As explained earlier, congregational prayers can give us a lot of rewards. In fact, just doing the prayer alone, we have been given a reward of 27 times. Not to mention the time we do other practices for this congregational prayer.
Of course not only that, when we are sick and cannot pray in congregation in the mosque and finally do it at home, the reward we get is the same as our reward for praying in congregation in the mosque.
2. Avoid Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is one of the qualities that Allah (swt) dislikes, even hates. Basically this hypocrisy is a trait that is created intentionally or when a person claims to have followed all the teachings of Islam but he actually refuses in his heart. This hypocrisy is a reprehensible trait because he only pretends to worship.
One of the virtues of praying in congregation is that it can prevent hypocrisy. The reason is, when someone is diligent in praying in the mosque, it reflects that he does not feel burdened when he is going to pray.
3. Get Prayers from Angels
Who doesn’t want angels to pray for us? The reason is, this angel’s prayer is often granted by Allah SWT. Apparently, when praying in congregation, you will tend to receive prayers from angels. Especially when in the front row during congregational prayers.
4. Get Protection on the Day of Judgment
If someone is always diligent in praying in congregation, especially in the mosque, then he is included in the group and will be protected on the Day of Resurrection. Of course, this is very convenient and will help when judgment day comes.
5. His sins are forgiven
We know for sure that we are full of sin and guilt. But sometimes we even get used to adding sin and not adding actions that can erase it. Actually there are many simple ways and practices that can be done to remove all existing sins. One of them relates to the primacy of praying in congregation. Thus, we can be blotted out of our sins.
Surely this shows that Allah is really good and provides opportunities for his servants. Allah does this to atone for the sins of his servants by atone for them with other practices. With this, you should make good use of it to erase past sins.
6. Avoiding the Torment of the Grave
In Tanbih al Ghafilin which is a word according to Abu al Lais as Samarkandi, it shows that there are several privileges and virtues according to praying in congregation. Some of these privileges include the following.
– Allah will make it easy for him to deal with all the affairs of his life and remove all the burdens of his life;
– Allah will always lift or lighten the torment of the grave;
Someone who is diligent in praying in congregation will be facilitated when passing the shirat al Mustaqim by using very easy tools such as lightning;
– Allah will enter that person into heaven without reckoning;
Even so, all these features must be followed also using how the prayer was established. Is it solemn and sincere? Or just fulfilling obligations without going deep into the prayer.
If the prayer can be performed as best as possible solely to seek the pleasure of Allah, it is not impossible that the reply will be produced very easily in accordance with Allah’s provisions.
7. Gaining Wisdom
There are many virtues that accompany the virtues of praying together. Not only are the rewards and rewards abundant, but there are so many lessons we can take. Of course, when we pray together, many lessons are learned from the symbols of Islam, ukhuwah, signs of friendship to tolerance.
Establishing congregational prayers has many virtues and privileges. Not only do we receive a lot of rewards, but we also receive sins that can be easily removed by Allah’s provision.
