What is the ruling on leaving one's parents and devoting oneself to seeking knowledge?

Question : The questioner says: It is known to everyone that seeking knowledge is an individual obligation for every Muslim, and that the rights of parents are great, to the extent that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So I ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to clarify for us whether it is permissible to leave them to seek knowledge or not?

Answer : As for the case where your parents need you and you must remain with them, it is obligatory to stay with them. This is because being dutiful to them is obligatory, and you can combine being dutiful to them with seeking knowledge by acquiring beneficial books that contain Islamic knowledge and the means to it, thereby combining both benefits. As for the case where your parents do not need you, either because they are independent or because they have children who can take care of them, if your travel to seek knowledge is a dire necessity such that you cannot attain knowledge if you remain with your parents, then there is no blame on you for traveling to seek knowledge, because they do not need you. If they prevent you from traveling in this situation, it is a mistake and an injustice on their part. The obligation on parents, when they see their children heading toward seeking Islamic knowledge, is not to prevent them from traveling to seek knowledge, because if they do so, they have committed a sin. As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to the one who wanted to go out for jihad: , you know that this was an answer to a question, and an answer to a question is a ruling specific to that case. It is possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that this man was not suitable for jihad, so he did not want to shock him by saying you are not suitable, but he saw that he should direct him to another form of jihad that he could perform, which is being dutiful to his parents. An answer to a question cannot be taken as a general rule unless there is a word in it indicating generality.