Congregational Prayer at Home Accompanying Wife with Dementia

QUESTION:

Bismillah
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings,
please enlighten me
My wife’s prayers were confirmed to be wrong every time (dementia), because her raka’at was less than the prescribed one.
So I always have to be in front of him as a priest.
The problem is every time the call to prayer arrives, I can’t pray in the mosque or in congregation in another place (during prayer, for example).
So what’s the best choice?
My age is 70+
Wife’s age is 60+

ANSWER

Waalaikumsalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh

Robbuna yusahil ‘alaikum wa Ahlikum..

There are options without having to leave the congregation at the mosque. That is, we pray together at the mosque, so when we get home we can accompany our wives to pray together. This is okay, it has been happening since the time of the Prophet ﷺ.

Jabir bin Abdillah Radhiallahu ‘Anhu, narrated:

Muadz used to pray evening prayers with the Prophet Muhammad SAW, then he went to his people and led him with them. For him it is voluntary, and for them it is obligatory.

Mu’adz radhiyallahu ‘anhu used to perform the Isha prayer with the Prophet ﷺ, then he returned to his people and led them in the prayer. So for Mu’adz the rule is sunnah (tathawwu’ prayer), while for his people the rule is obligatory prayer. (HR. Muttafaq ‘Alaih)

In this hadith it is shown that it is permissible for someone who has finished the obligatory prayer, then he accompanies another person’s obligatory prayer (for example his wife), and for him it is considered sunnah while other people’s obligatory prayers are performed. This view was reinforced by Imams such as Imam Ibnul Mundzir from Atha’, Al Auza’i, Imam Ahmad, Abu Tsaur, and Sulaiman bin Harb as well as Imam An Nawawi from the Syafi’i school of thought, may Allah be pleased with them all.

Wallahu A’lam