Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the morning prayer and asked: "Is such-and-such a man present?" Then he narrated the rest of the hadith, at the end of which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(In prayer) the more people there are, the more beloved it is to Allah Almighty."

Even if a blind person fears the night insects and beasts in order to attend the prayer

Sayyiduna Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he submitted, "O Messenger of Allah, indeed there are many poisonous insects and wild beasts in Madinah Munawwarah (so is there a concession for me to leave the congregation)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, "Do you hear the call of «‏‏‏‏حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ» ‏‏‏‏ and «‏‏‏‏حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ» ‏‏‏‏ (Come to prayer, come to success)?" I replied, "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Then (you should) attend the congregational prayer."

And if their homes are far from the mosque, and their guides do not comply with bringing them to the mosques, the evidence that attending the congregation is an obligation, not merely a virtue, is that it is not permissible to say: There is no concession for a person to leave off a virtue.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned towards the people at the time of the ‘Isha prayer and said:“I have intended to go to those people who stay behind from this prayer and burn their houses.”Then Sayyiduna Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and submitted,“O Messenger of Allah, surely you know about my hardship and excuse, and I have no guide.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked,“Do you hear the adhan?”He replied,“Yes.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Then be present for it.”And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not grant him concession.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says:“I have no guide.”There is brevity in this phrase. To my knowledge, what he meant was that he does not have a permanent guide, as is mentioned in the narration of Abu Razin (which follows).

Abu Razin narrates from Abdullah bin Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah, indeed I am a blind, elderly man, my house is also far, and I have a guide who is not always with me. So is there a concession for me (to not attend the congregational prayer)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Do you hear the call to prayer (adhan)?" He replied, "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I do not find any concession for you."

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I intended to order my young men to establish the prayer, and then order some young men to go to those people who stay behind from the prayer and burn their houses along with them. If any one of them were to know that he would be invited to a meal of a bone of meat or a dish of tharid, he would surely accept (and be present)."

The Imam has narrated another chain of transmission for the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we saw ourselves in such a state that only a person with clear and open hypocrisy would stay behind from the congregational prayer, and we also saw ourselves in such a state that a (sick) person would be brought by two men, supporting himself on their shoulders, until he was made to stand in the row.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the heaviest prayers upon the hypocrites are the ‘Isha and Fajr prayers. And if they knew how much reward and virtue there is in them, they would surely attend them, even if they had to crawl on their knees. Indeed, I have intended to order the prayer to be established, then I would appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and I would go with a group of people carrying bundles of firewood to burn down the houses of those who stay behind from the congregational prayer along with their houses." This is the narration of Ibn Numayr, and in the narration of Abu Mu‘awiyah, the words are: "I have intended?" And he said: "Then I would order a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go with some people who have bundles of firewood with me to those who stay behind from the prayer, and I would burn their houses over them with fire."