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Prayer (Salah)

Prayer in illness

The ruling in short

The Prophet ﷺ told Imran ibn Husayn, who had piles: pray standing; if you cannot, sitting; and if you cannot, on your side. Allah has not placed any hardship on you in the religion (22:78) and does not burden a soul beyond its capacity (2:286).

1The steps of ease

  • Pray standing if able, even by leaning on a wall or a stick.
  • If standing is not possible or harms him, pray sitting, and bow and prostrate as he can.
  • If sitting is not possible, pray on the side, facing the Qibla. If that is not possible, on the back with the feet toward the Qibla.
  • If bowing and prostrating are not possible, nod with the head, with the prostration lower than the bowing.
  • If even a nod is not possible, make the movements in the mind. The prayer is not dropped as long as the person is conscious.

2Combining and purification

  • A sick person who finds that wudu is hard on him may use tayammum.
  • A sick person who finds it hard to pray each prayer on time may combine Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha, according to the Hanbali and Maliki schools.

Where the schools differ

The four Sunni schools agree on the main ruling above and differ in these points. No school is preferred here.

  • Standing is dropped when it causes real harm or severe pain, or would delay recovery. The schools agree on this. Praying sitting out of laziness, when able to stand, is not valid.

The evidence

From the Quran

لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾

Alá no pide nada a nadie más allá de sus posibilidades. Lo que uno haya hecho redundará en su propio bien o en su propio mal. ¡Señor! ¡No castigues nuestros olvidos o nuestras faltas! ¡Señor! ¡No nos impongas una carga como la que impusiste a quienes nos precedieron! ¡Señor! ¡No nos impongas más allá de nuestras fuerzas! ¡Y absuélvenos, perdónanos, apiádate d nosotros! ¡Tú eres nuestro Protector! ¡Auxílianos contra el pueblo infiel!

وَجَٰهِدُوا۟ فِى ٱللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِۦ ۚ هُوَ ٱجْتَبَىٰكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍۢ ۚ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۚ هُوَ سَمَّىٰكُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ ۚ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ ٱلنَّصِيرُ ﴿٧٨﴾

¡Luchad por Alá como Él se merece! Él os eligió y no os ha impuesto ninguna carga en la religión! ¡La religión de vuestro padre Abraham! Él os llamó 'musulmanes' anteriormente y aquí, para que el Enviado sea testigo de vosotros y que vosotros seáis testigos de los hombres. ¡Haced la azalá y, dad el azaque! ¡Y aferraos a Alá! ¡Él es vuestro Protector! ¡Es un protector excelente, un auxiliar excelente!

From the Sunnah

Sahih al-Bukhari 1117 Authentic collection

The point of the hadith: Pray standing, and if you cannot, sitting, and if you cannot, on your side.

Read the Arabic text

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَانُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ طَهْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي الْحُسَيْنُ الْمُكْتِبُ، عَنِ ابْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ كَانَتْ بِي بَوَاسِيرُ فَسَأَلْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الصَّلاَةِ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ صَلِّ قَائِمًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَقَاعِدًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَى جَنْبٍ ‏"‏‏.‏

Read it on sunnah.com

This is general information, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.

Fiqh questions

Prayer in illness

The Prophet ﷺ told Imran ibn Husayn, who had piles: pray standing; if you cannot, sitting; and if you cannot, on your side. Allah has not placed any hardship on you in the religion (22:78) and does not burden a soul beyond its capacity (2:286).

Is this a fatwa?

No. It is a summary of well-known rulings with their evidence. For your own case, ask a qualified scholar.

What if my school differs from this answer?

Follow the view of the school you follow and the scholar who teaches you. The page lists the differences of the four schools.

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