Obeying My Mother or Praying Jumu‘a

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

My parents are non-Muslims, and my mother gets very upset every time I go to the mosque. Is it necessary for me to stop going to Jumma and Eid prayers if my mother will be upset with me?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Attending Jumu’a and Eid Prayer is necessary for every adult Muslim male who fits the conditions. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

Therefore, a Muslim male who fulfills the conditions for Jumu‘a and Eid prayers, must attend. [Ibid.]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), although he highly emphasized obeying one’s mother, he also said, “There is no obedience to creation in the disobedience of the Creator.” [Tirmidhi]

Obeying One’s Parents

It is, in general, obligatory to obey one’s parents. However, the scope of obedience is limited to those things that relate to the parent’s rights.

It is not the right of the parent to prevent their child from religious or worldly benefits. Therefore, when one is faced with the choice between the command of the parent and the command of Islam, one must respectfully and tactfully decline to obey the parent.

Allah Most High says, “But if they pressure you to associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them. Still keep their company in this world courteously, and follow the way of those who turn to Me ˹in devotion˺. Then to Me you will ˹all˺ return, and then I will inform you of what you used to do.” [Quran; 31:15]

Even though the verse speaks about belief, it applies to all acts of disobedience.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he 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 studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding 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 Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.