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Does the Sunnah permit a newlywed man to pray at home and not attend congregational prayers during the first week of marriage, and what is the evidence for that?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The evidence indicates the obligation of congregational prayer upon men, and there is no evidence to exempt a newly married man from it. Some jurists have stipulated an excuse for one who is awaiting his wife's wedding if he is the one receiving her in his home, because his heart would be preoccupied. However, this does not apply to the common custom today where the husband comes to the wife. As for abandoning congregational prayer for a week, believing it to be a Sunnah, this is a mistaken understanding of the Hadith of Anas: "It is from the Sunnah to stay with a virgin for seven [days]." Its meaning is staying for seven nights specifically for the virgin if he marries her over another [wife], and not remaining at home and not going out for prayer.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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