What should a person do if going to the mosque causes him to be fired from his job?

The questioner: And upon you peace.

The questioner : He works in a restaurant.

The questioner : Repeat your question.

The questioner : Regarding the congregational prayer, as our master Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "You have seen us, and none but a known hypocrite lags behind it." So, are we to be controlled by our jobs in restaurants? Can we close the shop five times a day and go to pray? ...

The Shaykh : ... Yes, what did you say?

The questioner : I work in a restaurant, and this restaurant is not mine; I am just working there. Can I go to the congregational prayer at every time, and this leads to my being fired from my job, or ...?

The Shaykh : Your question is wrong. You are asking "can you" as if someone else were asking me. I am an old shaykh, meaning like my own case. If I asked, "Can I pray standing?" I would say to him, "I don't know; you know yourself best." So you are asking, "Can I pray at every time in the mosque?"

The questioner : The employer does not allow it.

The Shaykh : Ah, the employer does not allow it, but can you or cannot you?

The questioner : I can, but the employer does not allow it.

The Shaykh : Then why did you ask "can I"? Is this a mistake in the question?

The questioner : Sorry ...

The Shaykh : I know what you mean, but before I answer your question, I want to remind you that it is incumbent upon you and others to ask the question properly. Your question is not "can you pray," because the answer is obviously that you are a young man, may Allah preserve you, in the prime of your youth and strength, and so on. So why can't you? You can. But the question is: if I go to pray at every one of the five times, my boss fires me from my job, so what do I do? I say: there is no obedience to any created being in disobedience to the Creator. So it is not permissible for you to lag behind the congregational prayer, and you have known the warning in this sermon and others. It is not permissible for you to lag behind the congregational prayer on the excuse that your boss will fire you from your job. Your provision is from Allah, not from your boss. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, Allah the Exalted said: Do you think that if you obey your Lord and pray the five prayers in the mosque, and even if that boss fires you from your job, do you think your Lord will punish you for obeying Him? Or will He provide for you from where you do not expect? There is no doubt that is the case. And I do not think you are one of those materialists who rush after this world and prefer this world over the Hereafter. You think not, my brother. One must take the means, and our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, provides for the servants thereafter. We say yes, but what is with Allah is not attained through what is forbidden. So it is forbidden for you and others to obey a servant in disobedience to the Lord. And it has become clear to you.

The questioner : It has become clear, but if I work with someone else ...

The Shaykh : No, the answer has not become clear to you at all. If the answer had become clear to you, you would not add on and say "but."

The questioner: The answer was clear.

The Shaykh : But how do you say "someone else" likewise, and he goes with his saying Where did you go with this? If the answer had become clear to you, you would not have said this. May Allah reward you.

Another questioner : Leave this job. May Allah make it easy for you to find a better job. Work for someone else because you feared Allah.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Read the verse now. If we saw it permissible to take a misbaha (prayer beads), we would say, take the misbaha and say like this, until the verse and its meaning are firmly established in your heart. And then you would turn away from saying that ... -car horn sounds- Please wait for us, everyone, a little.

The questioner : Patience, there is no shaykh with the people, our shaykh.

The Shaykh : There is no patience at all. Now the light turned green, and they honked the horn. Please wait a little.

The questioner : Okay, regarding the question I asked you earlier about the fiancée, meaning they say she will work until you return, and then they will deal with each other, we will agree. Meaning, if I return, there will be further problems, for example, they will understand it as a job or something like that. So should I break off the engagement or not?

The Shaykh : My brother, you did not contract the marriage, may Allah guide you. You did not contract the marriage, by your own admission.

The questioner : Yes, I did not contract the marriage.

The Shaykh : Ah, you stipulated. I will tell you this condition: if they agree, then fine; if they do not agree, then Allah will make you independent of her.

The questioner : Meaning, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will not hold me accountable for leaving her?

The Shaykh : You will be rewarded, you will be rewarded, may Allah guide you. Why would He hold you accountable?

The questioner : People say that you engaged her for two years, and it is forbidden for you after this period ...

The Shaykh : Wait, my brother. This man does not distinguish between the marriage contract and the engagement.

The questioner : I do not distinguish between the contract ... The contract is writing the book (the official marriage registration).

The Shaykh : Okay, since she is not your wife, what do two years or five years or two months have to do with it? She is not your wife.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good ...