Is it Islamically permissible to pray individually, given that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Prayer in congregation is twenty-seven times superior to prayer performed individually," and he did not state that one who abandons congregational prayer is sinful?

The hadith, "Congregational prayer is twenty-seven degrees superior to individual prayer," was narrated by Muslim and others from Ibn 'Umar. This hadith has been used as evidence by those who do not consider congregational prayer obligatory, but rather a Sunnah (recommended practice). Those who affirm the obligation of congregational prayer have offered interpretations of this hadith. The issue of the obligation of congregational prayer is a matter of scholarly disagreement among the people of knowledge.