I have a great-grandmother who is over one hundred and forty years old and is still alive; she walks short distances, but she is unaware of some of the obligatory acts of prayer.

The questioner : He says: I have a great-grandmother who is over one hundred and forty years old and is still alive; she walks short distances, but she is unaware of some of the obligatory acts of prayer. Every time I try to teach her the tashahhud, Surat al-Fatihah, and some of the short surahs of the Qur'an, as well as what she should say in her prayer, she is no longer able to understand well, because she forgets what I tell her after two days. Will I be held accountable for her sins, given that I am educated? Please advise us, may Allah grant you success.

The Shaykh : You will not be held accountable for her sins if you have fulfilled the obligation of teaching. If you teach her and she forgets, you are not accountable for her sins. However, you should repeat the teaching to her again and again. Since she is your mother or great-grandmother, you should strive to care for her with utmost diligence, especially since she has reached extreme old age. She needs continuous follow-up and teaching so that she does not forget. As for what is beyond your ability to teach her, Allah the Exalted does not burden you with it, as He the Exalted said: .

The questioner : This is a message from Muhammad 'Azaz al-Sulami, who says: The imam of the Grand Mosque.