Is it permissible for a son to disobey his father because he ordered him to pray in the prayer hall he built in a house endowed for the poor?

The questioner : My father built a prayer hall... for thirty years he has been praying in this place. I want to go to the mosque, knowing that there is a mosque nearby. So, should I pray in the mosque or in the prayer hall?

The Shaykh : You mean what you say with the word "prayer hall," meaning that it is not a mosque.

The questioner : No, four prayers are held there, except for the Fajr prayer... So, should I pray there... or go to the mosque...?

The Shaykh : The fact that four prayers are held there and not five does not take it out of being a mosque and make it a prayer hall. A prayer hall is a place that has not been endowed as a mosque, but rather, as is done in many offices and companies, a room is designated as a prayer hall for those who work in the office or company. This is a prayer hall, not a mosque. A mosque is a place that is endowed for the performance of the five prayers in it. "Endowed" means that the endower cannot subsequently dispose of it by selling, buying, or altering it. So, if your father endowed this place that you call a prayer hall, then it is a mosque. And the fact that people do not pray one of the five prayers in it does not take it out of being a mosque, if he endowed it as a mosque. So, tell me, did he endow it?

The questioner : It is a large house. In the middle of this house is a room, and many of the neighbors used to come and pray in this place. And this house or residence was originally an endowment.

The Shaykh : It was originally an endowment.

The questioner : Yes, the residence itself, and this prayer hall is inside the mosque, and the mosque is complete with the prayer hall, and it is an endowment for Allah the Exalted. So, should I consider it a mosque and pray in it, or should I go to the mosque?

The Shaykh : You have also not clarified your statement on this. Is this a mosque or a prayer hall? Who is this endowment for, the one who made this endowment?

The questioner : Did he endow it for the sake of Allah the Exalted?

The Shaykh : Fine, when he endowed it, he endowed this place, I mean, excuse me, he endowed it for the sake of Allah the Exalted. So, what is to be done with this large house?

The questioner : For the poor and the needy to enter it.

The Shaykh : Poor people and the needy. Fine, when he endowed it for the poor and the needy to enter it, was this place that you call a prayer hall included in this endowment?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Just give me the answer to the question. I am saying, on the day he endowed this large house, and in it was this place that you call a prayer hall, when he endowed this large house, did he endow it for the poor and the needy, as you say, and did that include this place before it was made a prayer hall? Or, as soon as he endowed this house, did he divide it into two parts, with all the rooms for the poor and the needy except this room, which was a prayer hall? Or did this come about later, in his mind, to endow this place as a prayer hall? Do you understand me?

The questioner : Yes, the mosque, the prayer hall, this means it was built before the mosque was endowed... and in his intention was to build this prayer hall and expand it in the future, if there is room to expand this prayer hall and make it a mosque, and the five prayers are held in it. But until now, the opportunity has not arisen to expand this mosque and include it or expand it...?

The Shaykh : I am forced to say, may Allah have mercy on the questioner. You have not answered me. May Allah be pleased with you.

The questioner : He has the intention...

The Shaykh : I am not asking you about his intention now or before this time. I am asking you on the day he endowed that house. On the day he endowed that house, was this place that you call a prayer hall present? Yes. Fine, was this place also endowed for the poor and the needy, along with the general house?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Did you understand me?

The questioner : Yes, he endowed it along with the general house.

The Shaykh : He endowed it for the poor and the needy. Now, the poor and the needy, if your answer is precise, the poor and the needy are deprived of it because he made it a prayer hall, especially since you say that not all prayers are held there, but only four. Now, I can say, after this struggle between you and me, it is not permissible for you to pray in this place and leave the prayer in the mosque. Because praying in the mosque is obligatory upon you, and your prayer and that of others, including your father, it is not permissible for them to leave the mosque and pray in this place that you call a prayer hall. The answer is clear.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And another thing, if your father is righteous and pious, he must remove the function of this prayer hall and make it a shelter for the poor and the needy, like the rest of the house. Because an endowment is not permissible to change or alter, especially with the competition of the mosque that you say is near or far from it. It is clear to you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Meaning, for the poor and the needy, does it prevent us from entering this prayer hall?

The Shaykh : It does not prevent it, but the house other than the prayer hall, what do the poor and the needy do in it? Does the house not have them sleeping in it? As if they mean they are spared from renting houses because they are poor?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : This prayer hall must be like that. It is clear.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh: All right, go ahead.