Can I Be Excused For Not Attending the Local Masjid Congregation Due to Tinnitus?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
My question is, I tried attending the prayer in my nearby mosque, but the Imam’s voice there was very loud, and it was very damaging to my ears. I have tinnitus and loud noise sensitivity, so I have to be away from loud noise all the time. I am afraid if I attend more I will damage my ears. I am trying to figure out what I can do regarding this. Can I pray at home, or would it be sinful to leave the mosque? Please advise accordingly.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Yes, you may pray your prayers at home due to your condition. However, find someone in the house, like one’s parent, sibling, wife, etc., who can join you to form a congregation so you are rewarded.
It is a very strongly confirmed sunna, at the strength of the necessary (wajib), for able men without strong legally acceptable excuses to pray in congregation.
[Ibn ʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar;Tahtawi, Hashiya al-Tahtawi ’ala Maraqi ‘l-Falah]
Thus, it is sinful for men to miss praying in the congregation without such an excuse.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
