You can pray anywhere: the whole earth is a place of prayer. But prayer in congregation, at the mosque, holds a special place. The Quran itself enjoins it:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ
« Establish prayer, give zakat, and bow with those who bow. » (meaning of the verse, Al-Baqara 2:43)
Twenty-seven times more
« Prayer in congregation surpasses prayer performed alone by twenty-seven degrees » (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 645; Sahih Muslim, no. 650). The same prayer, at the same time, but with a multiplied reward, simply because it is performed together.
Every step counts
« Whoever purifies himself at home, then walks to one of the houses of Allah to perform one of the prescribed prayers, one of his steps erases a sin and the other raises him a degree » (Sahih Muslim, no. 666). The walk to the mosque is already part of worship.
A habit of the Companions
'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud used to say that whoever wishes to meet Allah tomorrow as a Muslim should guard the prayers wherever the call to them is made, and that in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, only the known hypocrite stayed behind; even the sick were brought, supported between two men, to the row (Sahih Muslim, no. 654).
Tightly packed and straight rows
« Straighten your rows, for straightening the rows is part of the perfection of the prayer » (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 723). Shoulder to shoulder, leaving no gaps: rich and poor, neighbors and strangers side by side.
Good practices at the mosque
- Arrive calmly, without running, even if the prayer has already started.
- Pray two rak'ah of greeting upon entering, if it is not prayer time.
- Fill the gaps in the rows, starting with the first row.
- Follow the imam without going ahead of him.
- Turn off or silence your phone.
Find a mosque near you
Wherever you are, in the city or traveling, Dalil shows you the mosques around you, with the distance, the walking time and the route. On WhatsApp, write près de moi and send your location. You can also enable a prayer time alert with the nearest mosque: write alerts.