if it is an obligatory prayer you may not break it, whereas if it is only a voluntary prayer, then interrupt it and answer them.

An exception exists when the parents are people who gauge circumstances properly and who, once they realize you are praying, will excuse you. In that case, signal to them that you are in prayer—by clearing your throat, saying “Subhan Allah,” raising your voice in a verse you are reciting, or in a supplication—so that the caller understands you are engaged in worship. If you know that these two parents, the mother and the father, are flexible and will excuse your delayed response, then simply alert them to the fact that you are praying.

For example, suppose your father comes while you are performing the sunnah of Fajr and calls out, “O so-and-so!” If he is an accommodating man who will excuse you, then clear your throat for him, say “Subhan Allah,” or raise your voice in the Qur’an, supplication, or remembrance you are uttering, so that he knows and excuses you.

But if he belongs to those who will not excuse you and insist that their word take precedence, then cut off your prayer and speak to him; the same ruling applies to the mother.

As for the obligatory prayer, do not terminate it for anyone except in a case of necessity—for instance, if you see someone about to fall into a well, drown in the sea, or be engulfed by fire. In such a dire situation you may break the prayer; otherwise, it is impermissible to interrupt an obligatory act of worship.

From this passage we also learn that the parent’s supplication, when made justly, is very likely to be answered. A father’s or mother’s invocation against—or in favor of—their child, when it is deserved, is close to being granted by Allah. Therefore you must exercise the utmost caution regarding the prayers of your parents, lest you expose yourself to a supplication that Allah might accept, to your own loss.

The hadith further indicates that the compassion Allah has placed in parents