Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! I intended to order for wood to be gathered, then order for the prayer to be established, then appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then I would go to those men (who do not attend the congregational prayer) and burn their houses down upon them. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! If any one of them knew that he would find a bone with some meat or two good pieces of meat, he would surely attend the ‘Isha prayer."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I intended to order someone to lead the people in prayer, then I would go to those people who did not join the congregational prayer. I would burn their houses down." (The narrator says: meaning those who did not join the 'Isha and Fajr prayers.)

Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the ‘Isha and Fajr prayers. If they knew how much reward and virtue there is in these two, they would surely join them, even if they had to come crawling. I intended to order the prayer to be established, then appoint someone to lead the people in prayer, then I would go with some men carrying bundles of wood to those who did not attend this prayer, and burn their houses down along with them."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Whenever we did not find someone present in the Fajr or Isha prayer, we would think ill of him.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I remember this about myself, that only that person would stay behind from (congregational) prayer who was a hypocrite and his hypocrisy was known, or a sick person who could not participate. If it was possible for a sick person to come walking between two men, he would participate in the (congregational) prayer. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us the ways of guidance, and among the ways of guidance is to perform prayer in the mosque where the call to prayer is given.

Ma’dan bin Abu Talhah narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) asked me: Where do you reside? I replied: In a village near Hims. He said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say:“Whenever there are three men in a village or in the desert and prayer is not established among them, then Satan overcomes them.”You must adhere to the congregation, for the wolf eats the sheep that is separated from the flock. The narrator named Sa’ib says: Here, congregation refers to prayer in congregation.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell from a horse. His right side was injured. When the time for prayer came, he led us in prayer while sitting. When he completed the prayer, he said: "The Imam is appointed so that he may be followed. When he says the takbir, you also say the takbir. When he goes into ruku, you also go into ruku. When he rises (from ruku), you also rise. And when he recites «سمع اللہ لمن حمدہ» , you recite «ربنا ولك الحمد» . When he performs the prayer sitting, then all of you should also perform the prayer sitting."

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted a horse and fell from it. His right side was injured. He offered some prayers sitting. We also offered prayer sitting behind him. When he finished the prayer, he said: "The Imam is appointed so that he may be followed. When he offers prayer standing, you should also offer prayer standing. When he goes into bowing (ruku‘), you should also go into bowing. When he rises (from ruku‘), you should also rise. When he recites «سمع اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ» , you should recite «رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ» . And when he offers prayer sitting, then all of you should also offer prayer sitting."

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed prayer in his house. He was ill and performed the prayer while sitting. The people behind him began to pray standing, so he gestured to them to sit down. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer, he said: "The Imam is appointed so that he may be followed. When he goes into bowing (ruku‘), you should also go into bowing. When he rises from bowing, you should also rise. And when he performs the prayer sitting, you should also perform the prayer sitting." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This is the Sunnah which Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) have narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Qais bin Qahd, Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) also hold this view. Jabir bin Zayd, Imam Awza‘i, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam Ishaq, Abu Ayyub Sulaiman bin Dawud Hashimi, Abu Khaythama, Ibn Abi Shaybah, Muhammad bin Ismail (Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him), and their follower scholars of hadith such as Imam Hamd bin Nasr and Imam Ibn Khuzaymah have also given fatwas in accordance with this.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave me as I leave you regarding matters; for those before you were destroyed only because of their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their prophets. So when I forbid you from something, avoid it, and when I command you to do something, do it to the best of your ability."