Which is better: praying in the nearby mosque that does not have a regular imam, or going to the mosque with a regular congregation that is about 2 kilometers away?
If going to the farther mosque results in abandoning the nearer mosque, then praying in the nearer one is more preferable. However, if the congregational prayer is held in both mosques, then praying in the mosque with a larger congregation is better. If they are equal in congregation, then the older mosque is better.
If they are equal [in both aspects], then the farther mosque is better for increasing one's steps, though some say the nearer one is better due to the right of neighborliness.
Ibn Qudamah summarized the preference for praying in the mosque with a larger congregation, then in the old mosque. If there is a mosque in one's vicinity where the congregation cannot be held without his presence, then performing it there is more preferable, so that he may help to enliven it by establishing the congregational prayer therein. The issued is that praying in the mosque of one's neighborhood is better than praying in a distant mosque.
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