Can I Miss the Friday Prayer Because My Wife Is Giving Birth?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

My wife went through a Caesarean section and the nurse told me to stay. So I missed the Friday prayer. Was it wrong?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Generally, it is not permissible to miss the Friday Prayer (jumu’ah) without a valid legal excuse, such as inability due to old age or severe sickness.

Childbirth is a sensitive time, but attending the Friday Prayer is a firm duty. The exception to the rule, however, would be in the case that leaving for the prayer would entail some kind of harm to the lady or the child.

Otherwise, consider which prayer you can attend, even potentially in the hospital itself, and return as quickly as you can after the prayer, delaying your sunnas till later.

[Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah with Tahtawi’s Gloss]

Please also see: Is It Permissible to Miss the Friday Prayer in the West Because of Work? and: Is It Permissible to Miss the Friday Prayer Due to an Exam? and: Missing Three Jumu’ahs

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.