APRIL 4

A Congregational Prayer

According to Abdullah ibn Umar, the Prophet Muhammad observed: A prayer in congregation is 27 times superior to a prayer performed individually. (Muwatta Imam Malik)

The desired states of prayer are increased when the prayer is performed by a congregation of worshippers. That is why its reward is more than that of a prayer said individually.

For a congregational prayer the individual has to think of it ahead of the appointed hour, as he has to set out for the mosque in good time. In this way, his mind is already occupied with thoughts of worship. Then, on the way to the mosque, he is reminded at every step that he is heading towards the house of God. It is as if, even before the prayer starts, he is busy with prayer.

In the mosque, there is an unalloyed atmosphere of worship, and the devotee feels that he is not the only person at prayer: he has joined a vast brotherhood. If, at an individual prayer, he was a worshipper in the simple sense of the word, he now shares the status of a preserver of the ritual of namaz for succeeding generations.

Then the congregational prayer in itself is a source of great reward. In an individual prayer, the worshipper is like his own leader (Imam) at prayer. But by saying his prayers in congregation he gives proof of greater modesty and reverence for Allah. In individual prayer he had renewed his consciousness of Islam individually. In congregational prayer he experiences this more intensely along with his fellow men.

In individual prayer he had received divine provision at the level of an individual. In congregational prayer he shares in God’s provision descending on the entire congregation.

Another significant aspect of congregational prayer is that through it he imbibes with his brothers the sacred atmosphere of the mosque. He learns from them and they learn from him. He is both a giver and a taker. If formerly he has simply performed namaz in private, he now becomes in congregational prayer a standard bearer of Islam.