Fatwa ID: 08196

Answered by: Maulana Kawsar Ahmed

Question:

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I live in Europe (Italy) and I go out very often with my parents to malls or shops to go shopping, and I never know if I can get home in time to pray, because in malls/shops they don’t let you pray, let alone on the street. My parents are believers but not practising and I have argued with them many times about this, but they do not understand, and I ask for forgiveness every time.

Sincerely, I am a true believer — I pray every day and every Salah, and I fast during Ramadan.

Example: I go out with my parents at 2:00 p.m. and Dhuhr I have already prayed, Asr starts at 3:00 p.m. and Maghrib at 5:30 p.m. How can I pray in time if my parents are out too long and they don’t care if I can’t pray in time, even if I ask them nicely? Can I combine prayers?

Because I feel terrible every time it happens to me — I make Tawba every time it happens.

Thanks, may Allah be with you.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Firstly, we have to understand that absolute submission, in totality without any qualification, is reserved only for Allah the Exalted and that which He has taught mankind through His Messengers (peace be upon them all).

The Prophet (ﷺ) has said:
“There is no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience to the Creator.” [1]

What this means is that anything your parents may ask or command you to do that is not in accordance with Islam, you are not obliged to obey such a request or command.

So, my advice to you would be to politely decline going out with your parents if going out with them would cause you to miss your prayer entirely.

Another thing that you could do is pray your Asr according to another legitimate opinion which is found in the Hanafi school of thought [2], which would allow you to pray Asr earlier (usually about half an hour to 40 minutes earlier than the general time Asr starts according to the mainstream Hanafi view). This is because following a valid opinion is better for you than missing the entire prayer altogether (even if it means that Asr hasn’t actually started according to the main opinion) [3].

As for combining the prayers (i.e. praying Asr in Dhuhr time), this is not allowed according to the scholars of the Hanafi school of thought.

So what I would advise you to do is to follow the aforementioned dispensation when necessary. If this is not applicable, then you would put the command of Allah — which is praying Salah at its appointed time — over the command of your parents.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by: Maulana Kawsar Ahmed
Checked and approved by: Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1]٢٠٦٥٣ – عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: اسْتُعْمِلَ الْحَكَمُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو الْغِفَارِيُّ عَلَى خُرَاسَانَ، قَالَ: فَتَمَنَّاهُ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ حَتَّى قِيلَ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا نُجَيْدٍ، أَلَا نَدْعُوهُ لَكَ، قَالَ: لَا، فَقَامَ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ، فَلَقِيَهُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، قَالَ: تَذْكُرُ يَوْمَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللهِ “؟، قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ عِمْرَانُ: اللهُ أَكْبَرُ (١)

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ص251 – كتاب مسند أحمد ط الرسالة – بقية حديث الحكم بن عمرو الغفاري – المكتبة الشاملة

[2] (وَأَوَّلُ وَقْتِ الظُّهْرِ إذَا زَالَتْ الشَّمْسُ) لِإِمَامَةِ جِبْرِيلَ فِي الْيَوْمِ الْأَوَّلِ حِينَ زَالَتْ الشَّمْسُ (وَآخِرُ وَقْتِهَا عِنْدَ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ إذَا صَارَ ظِلُّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِثْلَيْهِ سِوَى فَيْءِ الزَّوَالِ وَقَالَا: إذَا صَارَ الظِّلُّ مِثْلَهُ) وَهُوَ رِوَايَةٌ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ  وَفَيْءُ الزَّوَالِ هُوَ الْفَيْءُ الَّذِي يَكُونُ لِلْأَشْيَاءِ وَقْتَ الزَّوَالِ.

ص219 – كتاب فتح القدير للكمال بن الهمام ط الحلبي – باب المواقيت – المكتبة الشاملة

[3] الأصل: الضرورات تبيح المحظورات

ص43 – كتاب القواعد الفقهية  لعزت عبيد الدعاس ط دار الترمذي