Can I Leave Early from University in Order to Pray in Congregation in the Local Mosque?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If one has a university lecture 2pm-3pm (but lectures finish 10 mins prior i.e. if students need to get elsewhere) that one may have to check in for attendance especially when one agreed to attend the classes at the time of joining the University. If Asr Jamaat (congregation prayer) is at 2:45pm, does one then leave prior to get to the Masjid (about 3 mins away)

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Due to the immense virtue of praying in congregation, there is no doubt that doing so is ideal. However, if by praying in congregation, you are going to put your studies in jeopardy or cause yourself undue difficulty, it is permissible for you to miss the congregation for the sake of your classes.

Looking for Alternatives

If your university has a Muslim Student Association or the like and if there is an allotted place of prayer for Muslim students, you may be able to make a congregation with fellow students between class timings. By doing this, you get the virtue of praying in congregation and you, as well as other students in your situation, do not have to miss classes.

If there is no association or place for Muslim students to congregate for prayer, it would be a great service to yourself and others in a similar situation to start one.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.