سؤال
رقم مرجعي: 400501 | المساجد | 9 يناير، 2026
Ruling on Praying at Home When Far from the Mosque or with Family Instead of Joining Congregation
Assalamu’alaykum, May Allah reward you. I live far from any masjid, and at home my family prefers to pray alone on their own schedule. I read it is obligatory to pray in congregation when able even at home. I also read a hadith that said whoever hears the adhan and doesn’t pray with them his prayer is invalid. If I don’t say any adhan and pray alone at home when I am able to pray with others, is my prayer valid? I know ibn taymiyya said praying at home when near the mosque is invalid, but did he also mean that if I pray at home because I am far from the mosque, but pray alone when I can pray with my family, that even then the prayer is invalid? JazakAllah khair. Please help.
إجابة
If a person lives far from the mosque and there is no congregation accessible, or cannot pray with others due to distance, then praying alone at home is valid, whether alone or alongside family, and the prayer is not invalidated.
However, if one is close to a mosque and able to attend the congregational prayer, deliberately leaving the congregation without a valid excuse is blameworthy and may reduce the reward, as mentioned by Ibn Taymiyya. Nevertheless, praying at home for convenience or family organization is valid, though the best and most rewarded is to pray in congregation when able.