Q: It is stated in the Ahadeeth that if one performs his Salaah with Jama'ah then he receives up to 27 times more reward than one who doesn’t perform with jama'ah. It is also mention in ahadeeth that one who perform salaah having used Miswaak prior to performing wudhu, he would receive 70/72 time more reward than one who performs salaah without using miswaak.
Therefore, do the relevant ahadeeth suggest that one who performs Salaah having used Miswaak, will receive greater reward than that person who performed his Salaah with Jama'ah (not using miswaak)?
I have had this confusion in my mind for a while. Please enlighten through your superior knowledge.
A: Both have their virtues and rewards. The reward for performing Salaah with miswaak is seventy times better than the Salaah without miswaak. However the Salaah performed with jamaat earns one twenty seven fold reward compared to the Salaah performed individually. Hence the first virtue is in relation to the quality of the individual Salaah increasing (not the reward of the Salaah) and the second virtue is in relation to the quantity of the reward increasing through performing Salaah with jamaat. Both are totally different. Hence one cannot say that one's individual Salaah performed with miswaak exceeds the reward of the Salaah performed in jamaat without miswaak. Performing Salaah with Jamaat is an extremely emphasized injunction in Deen. The Ulama' explain that it is close to the rank of waajib. However one should endeavour to make miswaak (at the time of wudhu) as well as perform his Salaah with jamaat so that he acquires both virtues and both rewards.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
عن عبد الله بن عمر أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال صلاة الجماعة تفضل صلاة الفذ بسبع وعشرين درجة (صحيح البخاري #645)
عن عائشة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال فضل الصلاة بالسواك على الصلاة بغير سواك سبعين ضعفا (مسند أحمد # 26340)
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