surely receive their rewards even if the mosque is only few meters a way.

[Regarding this,] Al-H?fith Ibn Hajar said: ‘It was affirmed that some of the Sah?bah stated that the twenty five doubles reward for any Sal?t is only granted for those who perform the Sal?t in the mosque which is a J?mi‘ [i.e. the mosque in which the Friday Sal?t is conducted], though performing Sal?t in any other place has its own superiority.

Sa‘?d Ibn Mans?r narrated -through a good chain of narrators- that Aws Al-Mu‘?fir? asked Abdull?h Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘?s: ‘what do you think of the one who performs Wudu’ perfectly, then does Sal?t at home?!

He [Abdull?h] said: ‘This is indeed a good deed’. Aws then asked: ‘What about if he does it in the local mosque?’ He answered: ‘[He will be given] fifteen doubles reward for that’. Aws then asked: ‘What if he does it in the mosque which is a J?mi‘?’. Abdull?h said: ‘[He would receive] twenty five doubles reward’. (1)

This is also Im?m Al-Bukh?r?’s view i.e. that the ah?d?th that state the superiority of doing Sal?t in congregation are specified for the ones done in the mosque which is a J?mi‘ not the ones done at home. This was mentioned in “Al-Fath”, (2) “Irsh?dul S?r?”, (3) and “L?mi‘ Ad-Dar?r?”. (4)

This is also the view of some Fuqah?’ such as Ibn Nujaim who said: ‘Whoever does Sal?t with his house hold in congregation will not receive the [twenty five doubles] reward given for doing the congregational Sal?t [at the Mosque] unless there is an excuse for doing so’. (5)