Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said:“The prayer performed in congregation is twenty-five times more virtuous than his prayer performed alone.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that these words belong to the category about which I have already explained in the Book of Faith, that when the Arabs mention a number regarding something that has parts and branches, their intention is not to negate the possibility of more than that number. Therefore, by the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) statement ‘twenty-five times’, his intention is not that the reward for congregational prayer cannot be more than this. The proof for our interpretation and explanation is the following hadith.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "A man's prayer with the congregation is twenty-seven times more virtuous than his prayer alone."