Leaving the family without a guardian.

The Shaykh : The second issue: Some people go for 'Umrah and take their families with them. In the previous session, we divided people into how many categories? Three categories. One category: He goes by himself, performs 'Umrah, and returns to his family. This is good and fine. Another category: He goes to Makkah, performs 'Umrah, and stays for the entire month, leaving his family without a guardian. This is a mistake, an error, because staying with his family is better than staying in Makkah. I will tell you a story, because I do not like anyone to speak about something without evidence. Malik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him), Malik ibn al-Huwayrith came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a delegation, and they stayed with him for twenty days. Then he said to them, (peace and blessings be upon him): . Listen, my brother. The point of this hadith is his saying: . Stay among them, because what happens to a flock without a shepherd? It is lost, it is lost, and a man is a shepherd to his household. So, for him to go to Makkah and stay there, claiming that he is worshipping Allah and that this is better than returning to his family, is a mistake. Returning to his family and staying with them is far better, because he will discipline them, monitor them, and look after their affairs. How many of the categories did we mention? Two. The third category remains: The man takes his family to Makkah and stays there for the whole month or most of the month. But he leaves his family unguarded; he leaves the girls, the boys, the wives, and the sisters alone. He stays in the mosque worshipping Allah. But he neglects what is obligatory upon him, which is looking after whom? The family. And you know that Makkah during the days of 'Umrah becomes a mixture from every direction, from the countries and from outside the countries. And the worshippers of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) do not have control over them. So there is much evil in this. He becomes one who neglects the obligatory and performs the recommended. Which is more important for him? The obligatory is more important for him. So either he looks after his family and prevents them [from harm], or he returns, or he returns. And this is from ignorance.