Narrated AbuUmamah:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: If anyone goes out from his house after performing ablution for saying the prescribed prayer in congregation (in the mosque), his reward will be like that of one who goes for hajj pilgrimage after wearing ihram (robe worn by the hajj pilgrims). And he who goes …

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

Prayer said by a man in congregation is twenty five degrees more excellent than prayer said by him alone in his house or in the market. This is because when any of you performs ablution and does it perfectly, and goes out to the mosque having no intention except praying, and nothing moves him except…

Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri:

Prayer in congregation is equivalent to twenty-five prayers (offered alone). If he prays in a jungle, and performs its bowing and prostrations perfectly, it becomes equivalent to fifty prayers (in respect of reward). Abu Dawud said: 'Abd al-Walid b. Ziyad narrated in his version of this tradition:…

Narrated Ka'b ibn Ujrah:

AbuThumamah al-Hannat said that Ka'b ibn Ujrah met him while he was going to the mosque; one of the two (companions) met his companion (on his way to the mosque) And he met crossing the fingers of my both hands. He prohibited me to do so, and said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has said: If any of you …

Narrated A person from the Ansar:

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: An Ansari was breathing his last. He said: I narrate to you a tradition, and I narrate it with the intention of getting a reward from Allah. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If any one of you performs ablution and performs it very well, and goes out for pray…

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: whoever performs ablution, and performs his ablution perfectly, and then goes to the mosque and finds that the people had finished the prayer (in congregation), Allah will give him a reward like one who prayed in congregation and attended it; The reward of those who prayed in congregation will not be curtailed.

Abu Hurairah said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah( may peace be upon him) say: When the iqamah is pronounced for prayer, do not come to it running, but come walking(slowly). You should observe tranquility. The part of the prayer you get(along with the imam) offer it, and the part you miss complete it(afterwards). Ab…

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet(ﷺ) as saying:

Come to prayer with calmness and tranquility. Then pray the part you get (long with the imam) and complete afterwards the part you miss. Abu Dawud said: Ibn Sirin narrated from Abu Hurairah the words: "he should complete it afterwards." Similarly, Abu Rafi' narrated from Abu Hurairah and Abu Dharr…

Narrated Yazid ibn al-Aswad:

Yazid prayed along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he was a young boy. When he (the Prophet) had prayed there were two persons (sitting) in the corner of the mosque; they did not pray (along with the Prophet). He called for them. They were brought trembling (before him). He asked: What prevente…

Jabir b. Yazid reported on the authority of his father:

I said the morning prayer along with the prophet (ﷺ) at Mina. He narrated the rest of the tradition to the same effect.

Narrated Yazid ibn Amir:

I came while the Prophet (ﷺ) was saying the prayer. I sat down and did not pray along with them. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned towards us and saw that Yazid was sitting there. He said: Did you not embrace Islam, Yazid? He replied: Why not, Messenger of Allah; I have embraced Islam. He said: What…

A man from Banu Asad b. Khuzaimah asked Abu Ayyub al-Ansari:

if one of us prays in his house, then comes to the mosque and finds that the iqamah is being called, and if I pray along with them ( in congregation), I feel something inside about it. Abu Ayyub replied: We asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about it. He said: That is a share from the spoils received by the warr…

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar:

Sulayman, the freed slave of Maymunah, said: I came to Ibn Umar at Bilat (a place in Medina) while the people were praying. I said: Do you not pray along with them? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Do not say a prayer twice in a day.

Narrated Uqbah ibn Amir:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who leads the people in prayer, and he does so at the right time, will receive, as well as those who are led (in prayer) will get (the reward). He who delays (prayer) from the appointed time will be responsible (for this delay) and not those who are led in prayer.

Narrated Sulamah daughter of al-Hurr:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: One of the signs of the Last Hour will be that people in a mosque will refuse to act as imam and will not find an imam to lead them in prayer.

Abu Mas’ud al-Badri reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

The one of you who is most versed in the Books of Allah should act as imam for the people; and the one who is the earliest of them in reciting (the Qur’an); if they are equally versed in reciting it, then the earliest of them to emigrate (to Medina); if they emigrated at the same time, then the olde…

The version of this tradition narrated through a different chain by Shu’bah has the words:

“A man should not lead the another man in prayer. Abu Dawud said: Yahya al-Qattan narrated from Shu’bah in a similar way, i.e. the earliest of them in recitation.

‘Amr b. Salamah said ; we lived at a place where the people would pass by us when they came to the prophet (ﷺ). When they returned they would again pass by us. And they used to inform us that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said so –and-so. I was a boy with a good memory. From the( process) I memorized a large portion of the Qur’an. Then my father went to the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) along with a group of his clan. He (the Prophet) taught them prayer. And he said:

The one of you who knows most of the Qur’an should act as your imam. I knew the Qur’an better than most of them because I had memorized it. They, therefore, put me in front of them, and I would lead them in prayer. I wore a small yellow mantle which, when I prostrated myself, went up on me, and a wo…

This tradition has also been transmitted through a different chain by ‘Amr b. Salamah. This version says:

“I used to lead them in prayer with a sheet of cloth on me that was patched and torn. When I prostrated myself, my buttocks were disclosed.

‘Amr b. Salamah reported on the authority of his father (Salamah) that they visited the Prophet (ﷺ). When they intended to return, they said:

Messenger of Allah, who will lead us in prayer? He said: The one of you who knows most of the Qur’an, or memorizes most of the Qur’an, (should act as your imam). There was none in the clan who knew more of the Qur’an than I did. They, therefore, put me in front of them and I was only a boy. And I wo…