Travelling for religious knowledge against the parents’ wishes

Question

A certain Muhammad Mukarram goes away to a distant land to acquire religious knowledge, and his parents want Muhammad Mukarram not to leave them and live far away, but to stay with them and try to earn something, so that we may live in ease in our last days. But Muhammad Mukarram has no wish at all to abandon acquiring knowledge and ruin his life by getting involved in worldly work; rather, he wants it so: let not only his parents but the whole world be displeased and let everyone part from him — even then he will…

Answer

Acquiring religious knowledge to the extent of need is fard ‘ayn (an individual obligation), but completing the full curriculum is not fard ‘ayn. If the parents are needy and cannot earn, then serving them according to his capacity is binding (lazim)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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