In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,

To the scholars, the true holders of virtue:

May the peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be upon you. I would like you to help me with a problem that began between me and my father since I became religious and started to grow my beard. It all started in the beginning with him pressuring me to shave my beard. Then he began to forbid me to bring my friends to our house. Then he forbade me to befriend some of the youth in our area, and you should know that I was 21 years old at that time. Also, if I used to see a piece of paper thrown in the street that contained verses of the Qur`an or hadiths, I would take it home with me and burn it, and my father knew that. One time, I found a book of fiqh that they study at the Azhar thrown in the street and all torn up, so I took it and put it in the bag I carry to hold my work clothes. When I got home at the end of the day, I put my bag near the door of my room while I ate my dinner. My father is in the habit of checking out my belongings, so, when he saw the book all ripped up, he said, "So, now you are bringing home garbage from the street, boy?" and he knew it was a book of religion. So I asked in astonishment, "The words of Allah and His Messenger are garbage?" So my father replied, "Yeah, garbage." Another time, he told me not to hang out with the son of so-and-so (our neighbor) [so that I don`t convince him to become religious], so I asked why? He snapped, "Just because." So I asked, "And whose shari`ah is this?" He said, "Your father`s shari`ah." And that`s not all! He used to joke about the religious brothers and make fun of them, even though some of them are my age and are our neighbors too. One time he took my alarm clock while I was sleeping so that I don`t wake up to pray the fajr. Then the latest example of this persecution was when he concocted a plan to get the authorities in Egypt to lock me up, but I was saved by the grace of Allah (swt). Now I`m 25 years old and I hate him; I loathe him for all the harm he has brought upon me, both in my psyche and in my religion. I am incapable of loving him or having feelings for him as a father. I have begun to feel that he is my enemy, especially after the prison incident, and every day I try to find a way to keep myself safe from his treachery towards me. When I read texts from the Qur`an and Sunnah that talk about honoring your parents and being good to them, I say to myself, "This man makes fun of my religion and the words of Allah and His Messenger. He declared war on my commitment to the religion, but that wasn`t enough. He even laid a trap to get me locked up." From another perspective, my mother is being tortured too. He abuses her and treats her badly, and all she wants is for the house to settle down and be calm.

Is my father a hypocrite for the way he makes fun of the religion? Would he lose his rights as a parent for that reason? Would it be permissible for me to make du`a against him?

Occasionally things get tense and we argue and I might raise my voice to him. Would that make me an undutiful son?

I hope that you can help me and advise me, mentioning proof from Qur`an and Sunnah or one of the actions of our pious predecessors so that I can find something to take as an example in situations like these; and may Allah reward you with everything good.

All praise is for Allah, and may peace and blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions and true followers. To proceed:

We are living, my son, in an age in which conflict has increased and trials have become greater. It seems to me that your father`s situation is neither one of hatred towards the religion, nor animosity towards Allah and His Messenger, but rather he is the victim of delusions constructed by the media and security pressures. There are misconceptions due to ignorance, wrong interpretations and coercion enveloping your father`s behavior. You must treat him gently and with the utmost care, in addition to the general honor and good treatment you as a child must show in your relationship with your parents as an act of worship to Allah. This is true even if they try to get you to join others in worship with Allah for which He has sent no authority…{But if they (both) strive with you to make you join in worship with Me others of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not, but behave with them in the world kindly…}[Luqman 31: 15].

My son, do not hate your father and do not make du`a against him! Rather, treat him with gentle kindness and be patient with him! Call him to the worship of Allah and make excuses for him. Perhaps Allah will cast guidance into his heart and make a way out for him from the storm of conflict and its dark gloom. Verily, Allah is the One in charge of that and the only One capable of it; and Allah is more exalted and more knowledgeable.