Obeying parents who forbid going to the mosque for congregational prayer

A question from a young man whose family stop him from praying in congregation at the mosque, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that he must obey them if they forbid it for a clear benefit, but need not if they act from obstinacy or imagined fears. ¹

The questioner said he loves praying in congregation at the mosque, but his family stop him, citing illnesses and other reasons, and asked whether he may disobey them. ¹

The Department explained that congregational prayer is established, needs at least two people, and its merit can be had at home or at work; it is a communal obligation on resident men for the obligatory prayers and is better for men in the mosque, and it listed the general excuses for missing it, such as heavy rain or severe cold, and personal ones such as illness or fear for one's life or property. ¹ It said that if the parents forbid it for a clear benefit, to protect their son from a harm they think likely, such as illness during an epidemic or kidnapping or assault in times of unrest, or for their own benefit, such as old age, illness or wanting his company, he must obey them. ¹ If they act from obstinacy or imagined fears, obedience is not required of a sane, mature son, since the obedience owed is in what clearly benefits them; it cited a reply of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyya al-Kubra about a father who kept his mature son from seeking knowledge for fear of bad company. ¹ It closed by saying that the son should be gentle with his parents in every case. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3824, dated 2 November 2023. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.