It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prayer in congregation is twenty-five (25) degrees superior to your individual prayer."

And with this same chain (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Angels come and go among you by night and by day, and they gather at the Fajr prayer and the Asr prayer. Then those who have spent the night among you ascend (in the morning), and (Allah the Exalted) asks them, though He knows best about them: 'In what state did you leave My servants?' They say: 'We left them while they were praying, and when we came to them, they were praying as well.'"

It is narrated from Humran, the freed slave of Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), that Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting on an elevated seat when the muezzin came and informed him of the Asr prayer. Then he asked for water and performed ablution, then said: By Allah! I will tell you a hadith; if it were not for an ayah from the Book of Allah, I would never have told it to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: Whoever performs ablution well and then offers prayer, the sins committed between that prayer and the next are forgiven.

Imam Malik said: I think this ayah is meant «وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ» [ھود: ١١٤] "And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember."

And with this chain (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The prayer in congregation is twenty-seven times superior to the prayer offered alone."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mihjan (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a gathering. Then the call to prayer was given, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up and led the prayer. Then he returned, and Sayyiduna Mihjan (may Allah be pleased with him) was still present in his gathering. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked him: "Why did you not pray with the people? Are you not a Muslim man?" Mihjan said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah! I am a Muslim, but I had already performed this prayer at home." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: "If you have already prayed and (then) come (to the mosque), then pray with the people (again)."

And with this chain of narration, it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! I intended to order that wood be gathered, then I would order for the call to prayer to be given, then I would appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go to those people (who do not attend the prayer) and burn their houses down upon them. By Him in Whose hand is my soul! If any of those (who do not attend the congregational prayer) knew that he would receive a thick bone or two good hoofs of a goat, he would surely be present at the 'Isha prayer."

And with the same chain of narration, it is narrated from (Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Each of you remains in prayer as long as the prayer keeps him (waiting for it). He does not return to his home because of the prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I went towards (Mount) Tur, and (on my return) I met Ka‘b al-Ahbar, so I sat with him. He told me things from the Torah, and I narrated to him the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I also told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The best day on which the sun rises is Friday. On this day Adam (peace be upon him) was created, and on this day he was sent down (from Paradise), and on this day his repentance was accepted, and on this day he died, and on this day the Hour will be established. Every animal listens attentively, fearing the Hour, from the morning of Friday until the sun rises, except for jinn and humans. And in this day there is a moment in which, if a Muslim servant is praying and asks Allah for something, He grants it to him.”Ka‘b said: This occurs once a year. I said: (No), rather it happens every Friday. Then Ka‘b read the Torah and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has spoken the truth.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I met Sayyiduna Busrah ibn Abi Busrah al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: Where have you come from? I said: From Tur. He said: If I had met you before you went, you would not have gone there. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: No journey should be undertaken (for prayer or reward) except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, this mosque of mine (the Prophet’s Mosque), and the mosque of Ilya or Bayt al-Maqdis. The narrator is uncertain about the words“mosque of Ilya or Bayt al-Maqdis”(and both refer to the same mosque, i.e., al-Masjid al-Aqsa).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I met Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him), so I told him about my sitting with Ka‘b and the hadith I narrated about Friday, and I said that Ka‘b said: This moment occurs once a year. He said: Ka‘b was mistaken. I said: Then Ka‘b read the Torah and said: Rather, it happens every Friday. So ‘Abdullah (ibn Salam, may Allah be pleased with him) said: Ka‘b has spoken the truth.

Then Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Do you know at what time this hour occurs? I said: Please tell me and do not withhold it from me. So Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It is at the last moment of Friday. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How can it be the last moment, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“When a Muslim servant is praying,”and at that time prayer is not performed? So Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not say that whoever sits waiting for the prayer is considered to be in prayer until he prays? (Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:) I said: Yes, he did say that. So he said: That is what is meant.

And with this chain (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "When you sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your neck. On each knot he says, 'The night is long, so sleep.' Then when he wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is untied. Then when he performs ablution, the second knot is untied. Then when he prays, the third knot is untied, and the person enters the morning energetic and in a good mood. And if he does not do so, he enters the morning sluggish, tired, and in a bad mood."

And with this same chain (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A man was walking on a path when he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it from the path. Allah appreciated this and forgave him." And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "There are five types of martyrs: the one who dies of plague, the one who dies of a stomach illness, the one who drowns, the one who dies under a collapsed building, and the one who is martyred in the way of Allah." And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "If people knew what (reward) is in the call to prayer and the first row, and they had no way except to draw lots, they would draw lots. And if they knew how much (reward) there is in coming early for the Zuhr prayer, they would compete with each other to get ahead. And if they knew what (reward) is in the Isha and Fajr prayers, they would surely come, even if they had to crawl on their knees."