The Ruling on a Man Praying at Home for Fear of Leaving His Wife Alone

Question:
A letter reached the program from Zabid in the Yemen Arab Republic, sent by a listener there named Muhammad Yahya Maddad. His letter says: I live in a house where there is only my father, my wife, and two small children. On one occasion, my father ordered me to go pray Fajr in the mosque, but my wife made me swear by Allah not to leave the house until my father returned from the mosque, fearing that she would be left alone. When my father returned and asked me the reason for not going to the mosque, I told him, so he made me swear by Allah not to go to the mosque and to pray at home. I told him that praying in the mosque is better than praying at home, and that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Despite this, he insisted that I pray at home, and that if I left, he would not allow me to enter his house again. So I obeyed him in compliance with his order. Please give us a ruling on this, may Allah reward you with good, especially since the wife constantly complains of being left alone in the house?

Answer:
If there is danger to your wife and she is not safe, because there are people around her to be feared from, then you have an excuse to pray at home out of concern for your wife. However, if the place is safe and there is no doubt in what the wife mentioned, and it is merely negligence on her part, then pray in the mosque and obey your father. Rather, obey Allah before your father. It is obligatory for you to pray in the mosque with the Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . A blind man asked him, saying: “O Messenger of Allah! I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, so do I have a dispensation to pray in my house?” He said to him, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: . He said: Yes. He said: . Muslim narrated it in the Sahih.
So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered a blind man who had no suitable guide to pray in the mosque and did not excuse him. You are more deserving of doing so. Do not be obligated to obey a parent in what contradicts the Shari'ah, because the Messenger of Allah, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: . But if the wife is not safe and the place is not safe and the danger exists, then there is no harm; this is a Shari'ah excuse.
As for the hadith: , this is a weak hadith, not preserved from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is only famous from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). However, what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) suffices for that, and they are the two previous hadiths: . The hadith of Abu Hurayrah in the story of the blind man mentioned earlier, where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: . These two authentic hadiths suffice for the hadith: .
The point is that it is obligatory for Muslim men to pray in the mosques and to increase the number of Muslims, and to go out to the mosque and not imitate the hypocrites. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I have seen us, and none would lag behind it—meaning: at home—except a known hypocrite whose hypocrisy is known.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to burn down the houses of those who lagged behind.
So it is obligatory for you and for every capable Muslim to pray in the mosque, and he has no right to pray in his house except with a Shari'ah excuse, such as illness or fear. May Allah grant everyone guidance and success. Yes.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.