Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām 3, narration 84

Translation

Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub from Ali ibn Ibrahim from his father, and from Muhammad ibn Isma’il from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan, both from Hammad ibn Isa from Hariz from Zurarah, he said: Zurarah was sitting one day with Abu Ja’far (a.s), peace be upon him, when a man came to him and entered upon Imam (a.s). He said to Imam (a.s): “May I be your ransom, I am a man who lives next to the mosque of my people. So when I do not pray with them, they speak ill of me and say such-and-such about me.” Imam (a.s), peace be upon him, said: “If what you say is true, then indeed the Commander of the Faithful (a.s), peace be upon him, said: ‘Whoever hears the call (to prayer) and does not respond to it without a valid excuse, then he has no prayer’.” So the man left, and Imam Abu Ja’far (a.s), peace be upon him, said to him: “Do not abandon the prayer with them, and (pray) behind every imam (of prayer).” When the man left, I said to Imam (a.s): “May I be your ransom, your words to this man when he asked you a legal question weighed heavily upon me. What if they are not believers?” Imam (a.s), peace be upon him, laughed and said: “It seems, O’ Zurarah, that you are still here (meaning, still thinking at a surface level). What reason do you seek greater than the fact that he is not to be followed in prayer?” Then Imam (a.s) said: “O’ Zurarah, what do you think I meant?” I said: “(That you meant) Pray in your mosques and pray with your imams.” (meaning the faithful should establish their own communities of prayer led by legitimate, believing prayer leaders from among them)

Translation: Haydar Ali Shaykh ibn Muhammad — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.