Is someone who deliberately misses congregational prayer considered to have abandoned prayer, based on the view of Imam Ahmad and Ibn Taymiyyah that the prayer of one who prays alone without excuse is invalid?

The jurists differed on the ruling concerning congregational prayer. Some of them held the view that it is a condition for the validity of the prayer, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, in one of the narrations from Imam Ahmad. They cited as evidence the hadith: "Whoever hears the call [to prayer] and does not answer it without an excuse, then there is no prayer for him," and his saying: "There is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque." They believe that whoever abandons an obligation without an excuse, his prayer is invalid.

Shaykh al-Islam holds that whoever prays alone without an excuse, it is obligatory for him to repeat it with the congregation if possible; otherwise, he should seek Allah's forgiveness. If he does not find a congregation, his prayer is valid, along with seeking forgiveness.

However, the view that congregational prayer is a condition for the validity of the prayer is a weak opinion. The preponderant view is that whoever abandons congregational prayer without an excuse is sinful and disobedient, and may even be a transgressor, but his prayer is valid. This is indicated by the hadiths that highlight the superiority of congregational prayer over individual prayer, as the preference indicates that there is a reward for individual prayer, which is a branch of its validity. Praying at home without an excuse is forbidden and not permissible for a Muslim to do.