Abandoning the Congregation Because of Employment

Question

Zayd wants to pray before the congregation. [The reason is that] if he does not pray before the congregation — Zayd is an employee — there is a risk of losing his job, and in his house there is no place suitable for performing the prayer. In this situation may he pray in the mosque or not — or in a part of the mosque that lies outside the bounds of the mosque [proper]?

Answer

It is prohibited for Zayd to take up employment in which at times he cannot manage without abandoning the congregation. He should choose another job or another means of livelihood that does not hinder the performance of the fard and sunna prayers, and once he finds it he should leave his present job. In a state of necessity, praying alone in the mosque is also valid.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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