2a. Ruling on prayer in congregationfor men

2a.
What is meant is that the believeris required to pray in the mosque, and it is not permissible for him to take the matter lightly and pray in his house when the mosque is nearby.
The fact that only two men pray in the mosque reinforces the factthat you have to attend the congregational prayer, so as to be free of any sin or shortcoming, and so as to encourage them to attend the prayer in congregation in the mosque, so that they will not get lazy. Two or more people constitutes a congregation.
Ibn Hubayrah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “[The scholars] were unanimously agreed that the smallest number that counts for prayer in congregation, apart from Jumu’ah prayer, is two: the imamand the person who is praying behind him, who should stand to his right.” Al-Ifsaah, 1/155
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “A congregation may consist of twoor more, and we know of no difference of opinion concerningthat.”
And Allaah knows best.

2. Ruling on prayer in congregationfor men

2.
Is it permissible to pray in one's home when the mosque is nearby?
Please note that there are only two of us praying.
Praise be to Allaah.
Prayer in congregation is obligatory for healthy men in themosque,
according to the more correct scholarly opinion. This is based on a
great deal of evidence, including the following:
1 - Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"When you (O Messenger Muhammad) are among them, and lead them in
As-Salaah (the prayer), let one party of them stand up [in Salaah
(prayer)] withyou taking their arms with them; when they finish their
prostrations, let them take their positions in the rear and let the
other party come up which have not yet prayed, and let them praywith
you"
[al-Nisa' 4:102]
The following points are made on the basis of this verse:
Allaah commands them to pray incongregation, then He repeats this
command a second time with regard to the second party or group, as He
says, "and let the other party come up which have not yet prayed, and
let them praywith you". This indicates that prayer in congregation is
an obligation for all individuals, because Allaah did not absolve the
second group of this obligation as a result of the first group praying
in congregation. If prayer in congregation was Sunnah, it would be
more appropriate for people to be excused from it at times of fear
[the situation referred to in this verse], and if it were fard
kifaayah (a communal obligation), it would be discharged by the
actions of the first group. So this verse shows that it is an
individual obligation, and demonstrates that in three ways: it is
enjoined at the beginning, then it is enjoined a second time, and
there is no concession allowing them not to do it at times of fear.
From the words of Ibn al-Qayyimin Kitaab al-Salaah.
2 - In al-Saheehayn (the following version was narrated by
al-Bukhaari) it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "By the One
in Whose hand is my soul, I had thought of ordering that wood be
gathered, then I would command the call toprayer to be given, and I
would appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go to
men [who do not attend the congregational prayer] and burn their
houses down around them. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if
anyone of you had known that he would receive a bone covered with meat
or two (small) pieces of meat in a sheep's foot, he would come for
'Isha' prayer."
Al-Bukhaari, 7224; Muslim, 651.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The fact that he
was thinking of burning down the houses of people who did not attend
the prayer is the clearest evidence that attending prayer in
congregation is obligatory, because it would not be permissible for
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to do this
with regard to something that was mustahabb and not obligatory.
Al-Awsat, 4/134
For more information on the evidence, please see question no.8918.
Once it is established that prayer in congregation is obligatory, it
isobligatory to perform this prayerin the mosque. It is not
permissible for a man who is able to attend the congregationalprayer
in the mosque to pray in his house even if he prays in congregation
with his family.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz said:
With regard to not praying in congregation, this is a reprehensible
action and is not permitted. It is also one of the attributes of the
hypocrites.
It is obligatory for the Muslim to pray in the mosque in congregation,
as it says in the hadeeth of Ibn Umm Maktoom - who was a blind man. He
said, "OMessenger of Allaah, I do not have a guide to lead me to the
mosque," and he asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) to grant him a concession allowing him to pray in
his house, and he allowed him that, but when he turned away he called
him back and asked, "Can you hear the call to prayer?" He said, "Yes."
He said, "Then answer it." Narrated by Muslim inhis Saheeh, 635.
And it was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "Whoever hears the call to prayerand does not come,
there is no prayer for him [i.e., his prayer is not valid], unless he
has an excuse." Narrated by Ibn Maajah, al-Daaraqutni, Ibn Hibbaan and
al-Haakim with a saheeh isnaad. It was said to Ibn 'Abbaas, what is an
excuse? He said, Fear or sickness.
In Saheeh Muslim (654) it is narrated that Ibn Mas'ood said: "At the
time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) we used to think that no one failed to attend the prayer in
congregation but a hypocrite or one who was sick."...

1a

1a.
at the appointed time, which was the coming of the Prophet Muhammad
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). A covenant had been taken
from the Prophets who came before him that if he was sent when anyof
them were still alive, they would abandon whatever they had and follow
him. God, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) when Allah took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying:
'Take whateverI gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of
the Laws of Allah, etc.), and afterwards there will come to you a
Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him))
confirming what is with you; you must, then, believein him and help
him.' Allah said: 'Do you agree (to it) and will you take up My
Covenant (which I conclude with you)?' They said: 'We agree.' He said:
'Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses (for this).
'
Then whoever turns away after this, they are the Fasiqoon (rebellious:
those who turn awayfrom Allah's Obedience)."
[Aal 'Imraan 3:81-82].
The law of the Qur'aan differs from all the laws that came before it
in that it is suitable for all kinds of people at all times until the
end of this world.
But if you were talking about theTorah as it exists now, then we have
no choice but to tell you of what we really believe – even if that may
upset you – but we hope that you have strong reason and sound thinking
that will help you to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and
that this may motivate you to investigate further until you reach the
truth.
This truth is that the Torah as it exists today is not that which God
sent down to Moses (peace be upon him). Rather it has been distorted
in all ways, adding, subtracting and changing the meaning. This is not
the place to expand upon this topic; we are just referring to it in
the hope that this might motivate you to enquire further.
The Torah as it exists today contains material that one must be
certain is not the words of God; rather it is distortions introduced
by those who attributed it falsely to God, may He be exalted.
For example:
-1-
It contains the ascription of shortcomings to the Lord, may He be
glorified and exalted, and likens Him to created beings. For example,
they say that God wrestled with Jacob for an entire night, then Jacob
overpowered Him! And they say that God regretted having created
mankind when He saw their disobedience, and He wept until His eyes
became swollen, then the angels came to visit Him and comfort Him.
Exalted be God far above what the wrongdoers say.
-2-
It contains insults and slander against the Prophets. For example,
they say that the Prophet of God Aaron made a calf and worshipped it
along with the Children of Israel. And they say that Lot drank wine
until he became drunk, then he committed incest with his two
daughters, one after the other! And they say that Solomon (peace be
upon him) apostatised at the end of his life and worshipped idols, and
built temples for them.
-3-
It includes exaggerations, impossible things and contradictions.
Among the books that have beenwritten on this topic are "What is the
Origin of Man?" and "The Bible, the Qur'aan and Science" by the French
scientist and medical doctor Maurice Bucaille, in which he proved the
existenceof scientific errors in the Torah and Gospel, and at the same
time he proved that there are no contradictions in the Qur'aan even
with modern science and scientific facts.
He says in the introduction to his second book (p. 29):
"It was in a totally objective spirit, and without any preconceived
ideas that I first examined the Qur'anic Revelation. I was looking for
the degree of compatibility between the Qur'anic text and the data of
modern science. I knew from translations that the Qur'an oftenmade
allusion to all sorts of natural phenomena, but I had only a summary
knowledge of it. It was only when I examined the text very closely in
Arabic that I kept a list of them at the end of which I had to
acknowledge the evidence in front of me: the Qur'an did not contain a
single statement that was assailable from a modern scientific point
ofview.
I repeated the same test for the Old Testament and the Gospels, always
preserving the same objective outlook. In the former Idid not even
have to go beyond the first book, Genesis, to find statements totally
out of keeping with the cast-iron facts of modern science."
Based on that, we have two reasons why the Torah as it exists now
differs from the Qur'aan:
1. Differences in the laws of the Prophets
2. Distortion that crept into the Torah and the tampering that
happened to it with the passage of time.
We ask God to show us the truth as truth and enable us to follow it,
and to show us falsehood as false and enable us to avoid it.
And Allah knows best.

1. The reason for the differences between the rulings of the Torah and of the Qur’aan

1.
A central belief of both Islam and Judaism is the belief in one God
and the prohibition of the worship of idols.
The main difference between these two purely monotheistic religions is
the book of each religion, the Koran and the Torah.How do the
teachings of the Koran differ from the teachings of the Torah.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We welcome you to our website and we ask Allah to help us to present
useful information to you, and that this will be beneficial to you in
both spiritualand worldly terms.
Secondly:
If you are speaking about the Judaism that was prescribed by God and
the Torah that God revealed, then Islam and Judaism are agreed – as
you said – on theworship of God alone, with no partner or associate,
and on the prohibition of worshipping anything or anyone else, no
matter what it is. Similarly, they are agreed on matters of belief
inthe Prophets and Messengers, theLast Day, the Reckoning,
Paradise,Hell… and so on.
But when it comes to rulings such as what is permissible and what is
prohibited, and the details of acts of worship, this is where Islam
differs from Judaism and the Qur'an differs from the Torah. God, may
He be exalted, says in the Holy Qur'an (interpretation of the
meaning): "To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear
way"[al-Maa'idah 5:48]. So each nation has its own laws concerning
what is permitted and what is forbidden, as it has its own acts of
worship by whichit worships Allah.
Our Prophet (blessings and peaceof Allah be upon him) gave the
likeness of the agreement of all the Prophets on the basic matter of
religion, which is affirmation of the Oneness of God (Tawheed),
beliefs and worship of God alone, with no partner or associate, and
the differences between their laws, when he said: "The Prophets are
half-brothers; their mothers differ but their religion is one."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.
Half-brothers refers to brothers from the same father, with different mothers.
So the basis of the religion of theProphets is one, namely affirmation
of the Oneness of God (Tawheed), and worshippingGod with no partner or
associate,but the details of laws and rulings is what is different.
And this is what is in accordance with wisdom.
Adam (peace be upon him) had a law that was suited to him and his
children, and was suited to the time in which he lived. In his law –
for example – a brother could marry his sister, because it was not
possible to perpetuate the family and produce offspringat that time in
any other way.
Then as time passed, the laws changed to suit the new nations and new
times. Hence in the lawsof the Jews it is forbidden for a brother to
marry his sister, even though that was permitted in thelaw of Adam.
For Jacob (peace be upon him), allkinds of food were permissible and
he was the one who forbadesome things to himself, and those
prohibitions became entrenched and became a law forhim and his
children. Concerning that God, may He be exalted, saysin the Holy
Qur'aan (interpretation of the meaning): "All food was lawful to the
Children of Israel, except what Israel made unlawful for himself
before the Taurat (Torah) was revealed" [Aal 'Imraan 3:93].
Then came the law of Jesus (peace be upon him), which was more lenient
than the law of Moses. God permitted to the Christians (the followers
of the Messiah, peace be upon him) some things that had been forbidden
in the law of Moses. Concerning this God, may He be exalted, tells us
that Jesus (peace be upon him) said (interpretationof the meaning):
"and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you" [Aal
'Imraan 3:50].
Then came the law of the Qur'aan, the law of Muhammad (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) which also differed from previous laws in
some rulings, as had happened before that in the case of Judaism and
Christianity.
Because the law of the Qur'aan isthe final law that will abide until
the Day of Resurrection, it is the most complete of laws, the best and
the most lenient, and in it is flexibility that is suited to all times
and places until the Hour begins.
This is the reason for the differences between the rulings of the
Torah and the rulings of the Qur'aan, as the Torah was specifically
for the Children of Israel alone, and its rulings were not meant to be
permanent and ongoing until the Day of Resurrection. Although most of
the rulings of the Torah remained in effect after that in
Christianity, and only differed in making permissible some things that
had been forbidden, the rulings of the Torah, and the Gospel after it,
were limited in terms of time and all of that cameto an end at the
appointed time,...