Is it permissible for him to lie to his parents in order to go out and seek (Islamic) knowledge?

Firstly: 

Seeking shar’i (Islamic) knowledge is one of the greatest
means of drawing closer to Allaah, and is a sign that Allaah is guiding and
loves His slave, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When Allaah wills good for a person, He causes him to
understand the religion.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (71) and Muslim (1037). 

This knowledge may be divided into fard ‘ayn (individual
obligation) and fard kifaayah (communal obligation). That which is an
individual obligation is that which the Muslim needs to know in order for
his ‘aqeedah (belief), worship and interactions with others to be sound. 

Everything other than that is naafil or supererogatory for
the individual, but it is a communal obligation for the ummah as a whole. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked: Is studying shar’i knowledge obligatory? 

They replied: Shar’i knowledge falls into two categories.
There is that which is obligatory for every Muslim, male and female, to
know, which is knowledge of the basics of faith, the pillars of Islam, the
rulings on prayer, how to do wudoo’ and purify oneself from janaabah and so
on. It is in this sense that the famous hadeeth, “Seeking knowledge is a
duty on every Muslim” is to be understood. 

The second category is fard kifaayah (a communal obligation),
which is learning all aspects of Islamic knowledge, the details of various
cases and the evidence for them. If some people undertake this, the rest of
the ummah is absolved of sin. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(12/90). 

Secondly: 

The basic principle concerning lying is that it is haraam and
it is only permissible in specific cases that have been explained in
sharee’ah, in order to attain major benefits or ward off harm. For more
information on these cases please see the answer to question no.
47564. 

Thirdly: 

Going out to seek knowledge without one’s parents’ permission
or against their wishes is something that is subject to further discussion. 

1 – If acquiring the knowledge is an individual obligation,
then it is not essential to have one’s parents’ permission, and if they try
to stop you then you do not have to obey them with regard to that. But lying
is a serious matter, and equivocation or ambiguity is a safe way to avoid a
lie. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Saheeh:
Chapter: Equivocation or ambiguity is a safe way to avoid a lie. Ishaaq
said: I heard Anas (say): A son of Abu Talhah died, and he said: How is the
boy? Umm Sulaym said: He has calmed down, and I hope that he has found
relief. And he thought that she was telling the truth. 

Equivocation or ambiguity is the opposite of clarity. What is
meant is saying one thing and meaning something else, or deliberate
ambiguity; it is a way out of lying. 

Al-Haafiz said: The point of quoting what Umm Sulaym said, He
has calmed down, and I hope that he has found relief., is that Abu Talhah
understood from that that the sick child had recovered, because she said
“calmed down” in the sense of quietening down, and gave the impression that
he had fallen asleep. When a sick person falls asleep, it may be a sign that
the sickness has gone or is reduced. But what she actually meant was that
the child had died. This is reflected in her words, “I hope that he has
found relief”. He understood that the child had found relief by recovering
whereas she meant that he had found relief from the problems of this world
and the pain of sickness. She was telling the truth as far as what she meant
is concerned, but what she told Abu Talhah was something other than what he
understood. So the narrator said: He thought that she was telling the truth,
i.e., based on what he understood. End quote from Fath al-Baari
(10/594). 

Ibn Qutaybah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: An example
of equivocation is what Ibraaheem al-Khaleel (peace be upon him) said
concerning his wife, “She is my sister,” meaning that the believers are
brothers and sisters of one another. End quote from Ta’weel Mukhtalif
al-Hadeeth, p. 35. 

If you are asked why you are late, for example, you can say
that you were studying with a friend, and they will think that you mean you
were studying medicine, when in fact you mean that you were studying Islam.
Or you can say that you were with a classmate, meaning a fellow student of
Islam, or that you passed by your friend, meaning on your way back from the
Islamic class. This ambiguity is only to be used when necessary and you
should not do it a great deal when there is no need for it, because that may
lead to lying, loss of respect and loss of trust in what a person says. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked: It is essential to have parents’ permission for seeking
knowledge that is obligatory, or not?  

They replied: Seeking knowledge on which the validity of your
faith and performance of obligatory duties depend does not require parents’
permission, but when it comes to knowledge that is a communal obligation,
then parents’ permission should be sought. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(12/78).

 2 – If the parents do not let you attend religious study
circles because they dislike your seeking Islamic knowledge, then you should
not ask their permission and you are not obliged to obey them in that case.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: … But if he knows
that his parents dislike him seeking Islamic knowledge, then he should not
obey them, and he should not ask them for permission if he goes out, because
their motive is dislike of Islamic knowledge. See his comments in full in
the answer to question no. 11558. 

3 – If going out to seek knowledge requires travel and being
absent from them when they need you to help them and so on, then you must
ask their permission. But if seeking knowledge is in the same city where you
live, and they do not need you during the period when you are outside the
home, then their permission is not essential. 

Al-Khallaal narrated that a man asked Ahmad (may Allaah have
mercy on him): I am seeking knowledge, but my mother has told me not to do
that; she wants me to work in trade. He said to me: Be kind to her and say
something pleasing to her, but do not stop seeking knowledge. 

Ibn Muflih said in al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah (1/646): The
author of al-Nuzum said: Do not obey them in forsaking a confirmed
naafil action such as seeking knowledge that will not harm them. End quote. 

Fourthly:  

You should note that there are many ways of acquiring
knowledge, especially nowadays when tapes, CDs and books are widely
available. For example: 

1-You can make use of books,
tapes and information available on the internet.

2-You can make use of the
programs on some satellite channels such as beneficial lessons which are
presented on the educational Majd  channel.

3-You can read books and ask
knowledgeable people via the internet or through other means, about things
you are confused about.

See also the answer to question no.
20191 for more
information on how to seek knowledge. 

We ask Allaah to help and guide you. 

And Allaah knows best.