I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "There are no three people in a village among whom the call to prayer is not made and the prayer is not established, except that Satan gains mastery over them. So hold fast to the congregation, for the wolf devours the stray sheep."
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: ما من ثلاثة في قرية لا يؤذن ولا تقام فيهم الصلاة، إلا استحوذ عليهم الشيطان، فعليك بالجماعة، فإن الذئب يأكل القاصية.
Imam Ahmad narrated it from Waki (21710) and from Ibn Mahdi (27514), both of them from Zaida bin Qudama, who said, Saaib bin Hubaysh Kalai told me, from Madan bin Abu Talha Yamuri, who said, Abu Darda said to me, "Where do you live?" I said, "In a village near Hims." He said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say," and he went on to relate the hadith.Its isnad is hasan because of Saaib bin Hubaysh Kalai Himsi, for he is hasan in hadith. Ajli and Ibn Hibban authenticated him, and Daraqutni said, "He is acceptable in hadith."This hadith is not among the additional narrations attributed to Imam Ahmad, for Abu Dawud (547) also reported it from Ahmad bin Yunus, and Nasai (847) via Ibn Mubarak, both of them from Zaida bin Qudama with the same wording, except that neither of them mentioned the adhan. Likewise Ibn Khuzayma (1486) and Hakim (1/211) also narrated it through different routes from Zaida bin Qudama, and neither of them mentioned the adhan in it. Hakim said, "This is a hadith whose narrators are truthful, corroborating what came before it. There is agreement on relying on its narrators except for Saaib bin Hubaysh, though it is known from Zaida's practice that he narrated only from trustworthy narrators." End of quote.Imam Ahmad also narrated it (27513), saying, Ali bin Thabit told us, Hisham bin Saad told me, from Hatim bin Abu Nadr, from Ubada bin Nusai, who said, There was a man in Syria called Madan, whom Abu Darda used to teach the Quran. Abu Darda lost track of him, then one day met him at Dabiq, and Abu Darda said to him, "O Madan, what has become of the Quran you used to have? How are you and the Quran today?" He said, "Allah knows of it, and it is well." He said, "O Madan, do you live today in a city or in a village?" He said, "No, rather in a village near the city." He said, "Wait, woe to you, O Madan, for I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'There are no five households whose people do not have the adhan called among them for prayer, nor have the prayers established among them, but Satan takes control of them, and indeed the wolf devours the stray sheep.' So keep to the cities, woe to you, O Madan."In this isnad is Hatim bin Abu Nasr, whom no one mentioned except Ibn Hibban in al-Thiqat (6/236), and no one narrated from him except Hisham bin Saad. For this reason Hafiz placed him at the rank of "unknown." As for the one who narrated from him, Hisham bin Saad, some deemed him daif while others deemed him trustworthy, and Hafiz placed him at the rank of "truthful but with occasional lapses."As for "the congregation," Saaib explained it as referring to prayer performed in congregation, and for this reason the hadith will be brought up again in the discussion emphasizing congregational prayer.