What is the meaning of the Hadith: "And he who waits for the prayer until he prays it with the Imam has a greater reward than he who prays and then sleeps," and does it indicate the permissibility of forsaking the congregational prayer with the Imam?

The obligation of congregational prayer is a matter of scholarly disagreement. The aforementioned hadith is used as proof by those who consider it meritorious (mustahabb), while those who deem it obligatory respond that mentioning its virtue and great reward does not imply an absence of sin for abandoning it, but rather signifies the sufficiency of praying individually. Some scholars believe that the hadith applies specifically to those with an excuse. The relied-upon fatwa is that congregational prayer is obligatory, even if not performed in the mosque, though performing it there is more preferable.