Collective worship is not better than individual worship everywhere

Question

Is collective worship better and higher than individual worship or not? Most people commonly, everywhere, after performing the prayer in congregation, make a supplication in this way: the imam keeps reciting the du‘a and the followers keep saying “amin”; customarily this is called “du‘a-i thani” (the second supplication). What degree of sin is it in the Shari‘a to make this “du‘a-i thani” in the manner described? Is the one who makes it sinful or not? And what reward (ajr and thawab)

Answer

Collective worship is by no means better than individual worship [in everything]; rather, it is better where there is encouragement to gather. For example, encouragement has come regarding the two ‘Ids and staying awake on the night of mid-Sha‘ban, and worship in it — nafl prayers, recitation of the Qur’an and the like — and the jurists have called this mustahabb.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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