If a person in financial difficulty fears his creditor, is he excused for missing the congregational prayer?
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Question : Or a creditor who demands payment from him while he has nothing to give, or if his wealth is lost, destroyed, or stolen,
Answer : To this extent, if he fears a creditor who demands payment from him and he has nothing to give, he is excused. So the bankrupt person who has people constantly demanding payment from him, and he fears that if he leaves the mosque, one will be at the door, one on the road, one at the mosque entrance, and another in the row, and he fears these people, he is excused. Now, until when? Until he finds his means of repayment. That is, if he remains for his entire life not praying with the congregation out of fear of his creditors, he is excused. But these creditors sin in two ways. The first is that it is obligatory for them to grant a respite to the person in financial difficulty, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:280] The second is that they were the cause of this man abandoning the congregational prayer. Yes, that is correct.
Answer : To this extent, if he fears a creditor who demands payment from him and he has nothing to give, he is excused. So the bankrupt person who has people constantly demanding payment from him, and he fears that if he leaves the mosque, one will be at the door, one on the road, one at the mosque entrance, and another in the row, and he fears these people, he is excused. Now, until when? Until he finds his means of repayment. That is, if he remains for his entire life not praying with the congregation out of fear of his creditors, he is excused. But these creditors sin in two ways. The first is that it is obligatory for them to grant a respite to the person in financial difficulty, as Allah the Exalted said:
And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease.
وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1200 - إذا خاف المُعسر من غريمه هل يُعذر بترك صلاة الجماعة؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
