The answer is that it depends. If the mother, upon learning that he is praying, would not be pleased for him to interrupt it, but would prefer him to continue his prayer, then he should not interrupt it. For if he were to interrupt the prayer and say to his mother, “I interrupted my prayer for your sake,” she would say, “Why did you interrupt it?”

But if she is among those who do not excuse someone in such a situation—for some women do not excuse this in such circumstances—then we say: interrupt it.

If the Messenger ﷺ were to call him—though this situation cannot arise now, it may be posited theoretically and academically—then he must interrupt the prayer, because Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“O you who believe, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.” [al-Anfal 8:24]

But someone might say: The verse says, “when he calls you to that which gives you life,” so must we not know that he has called us to something beneficial to us?

The answer is that this qualification is not restrictive; rather, it is mentioned to state the reality of the matter. For the Messenger ﷺ calls us only to that in which lies our life. A qualification of this kind—meaning, one stated to describe the actual reality—serves as a rationale for the ruling. It is as though He said here: because he calls you only to that which gives you life.

His statement, “and there is no making up for what is invalidated,” means that if a voluntary act of worship is invalidated, he is not required to make it up. For example, if a man voluntarily fasts and then invalidates his fast by eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, or anything else, he is not required to make it up, because if making it up were obligatory