CONGREGATION

The A embly of people in a mosque is called Jamʿah ( جمعة ‎ ), the term also being used in Afghanistan for the mosque itself. There are special rewards for those Muḥammadans who a emble together for the stated prayers; for Muḥammad has said, “The prayers which are said in a congregation increase the rewards of the worshipper twenty-seven degrees.” “Say your prayers in a congregation, for a wolf does not eat the sheep except one has strayed from the flock.” ( Mishkāt , book iv. ch. xxiv.) The Sunnī style themselves Ahlu Sunnah wa Jamʿah , i.e . “the people of the traditions and of the congregation,” in contradistinction to the Shīʿahs, who do not worship in a congregation unle the Imām, or leader, be a man entirely free from sin. [ IMAM .] The word jamʿah is also used for an a embly of people collected to decide a question of law or theology, the ijmāʿ being their decision, more frequently called ijmāʿu ʾl-ummah .