Praying in congregation

19-9-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is praying at Masjid in congregation a Fard? If one does not fulfill a Fard without any legitimate excuse will he be punished for it? If a parent or parents prevents you from walking to the mosque by yourself to pray in congregation to fulfill the Fard because she worries about you going by yourself, should you listen to them even if you told them it is a Fard, etc. and she/he still prevented you from going or should you obey Allah (i.e. the Fard of praying in congregation). If one doesn't go to the mosque because the parent doesn't want him to, do you commit a sin for not doing the Fard? If he doesn't go to the mosque allot of times due to parents not wanting you to go are you a Kafir?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Whoever commits a sin by not performing an obligatory act or by doing a forbidden one, he deserves being punished in this life and the Hereafter unless he expiates for his sin by a true repentance or by good deeds or by being afflicted by distress as good deeds and distress wipe out sins. But if none of the above were done by the person or happened to him, then he will be under the Will of Allah; if He wants He may punish him or forgive him.
Obedience to Allah is compulsory; so is the obedience to one's father. But if there happens to be an opposition between the obedience of Allah and that of the father, then the obedience of Allah comes before that of the father because no obedience is due to anybody if this person tells one to disobey The Creator. If your father has a legal and sound excuse to prevent you from going to the mosque like fearing for your life from a given enemy, then you should obey him, as the fear is a legal excuse to give up praying in congregation. But if your father's fear is only based on illusions, then praying in congregation should not be given up for that reason. But you should deal with your father kindly until you convince him of the right thing to do.
Praying in congregation is obligatory according to the majority of the Muslim scholars. But giving up praying in congregation without any excuse is not Kufr.
Allah knows best.