Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam,

I have severe back problems and find it very difficult to read namaaz, sometimes even sitting down and praying hurts (pain intensity is different on different days) could you advise me different ways to read namaaz without hurting my back? im unsure how to read sitting down as i have not found clear guidelines on exactly how to pray.

Thankyou 

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Answer:

Pray sitting position

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.103

Topic: The prayer of a person who is ill (Salatul Marid)

Whoever has some excuse due to illness and cannot stand during the ‘salah’ is allowed to pray sitting. If one cannot pray in a sitting posture, he may pray while on his side by making gestures. In such a case, his gestures for the ‘sajdah; should be lower than those for his ‘ruku'. This principle is based on Allah's words: "...And celebrate Allah's praises, standing, sitting, and lying on your sides (3:191)."

Imran ibn Hussain says: "I had piles [hemorrhoids], so I asked the Prophet (saws) about the prayer and he (saws) said: 'Offer the ‘salah’ while standing and if you cannot do so, pray while sitting, and if you can't do that, then make ‘salah’ while lying on your side."' (Related by Bukhari)

An-Nasa'i relates the same hadith with the following addition:: "……And if you cannot offer ‘salah’ while lying on your side, then do it while lying on your back.’ Then the Messenger of Allah recited the following verse of the Quran: ‘Allah does not burden a soul, save with what it can bear (2:286)."

Respected brother, if you have a physical ailment which does not allow you to pray in the normal postures of prayer, there is absolutely no harm if you pray either on the floor or on the chair while making gestures for the ‘ruku’ and the ‘sujood’, making sure that gesture for the ‘sajdah’ is a little more than the gesture for the ‘ruku’. Allah Subhanah does not put a burden on a soul save what it can bear, and if the only reason you choose to offer your prayers in the sitting position is because of your ailment, rest absolutely assured that your Lord Most Merciful is All-Knowing and He will not diminish the rewards of your prayer in the least.

Abu Musa al-Ashari (r.a.) reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "If a slave (of Allah) is sick or travels, he will get a reward for those acts similar to what he would get if he was healthy and/or at his place of residence."

If praying in the sitting posture is also painful, you have allowance to offer your obligatory prayers either lying on your sides or on your back making gestures only with your eyes.

Your Question: ….im unsure how to read sitting down as i have not found clear guidelines on exactly how to pray.

Offering ones prayers in the sitting posture (regardless of whether one sits on a chair or on the floor) is similar to offering the prayers in the normal posture, except that all the recitation one does while standing in the normal prayers, one recites in the sitting position.

While offering the prayers in the sitting posture, when one declares the ‘takbeer’ to move to the ‘ruku’ position, one merely moves one’s upper body 20-30 degrees forward, and when one has to move to the ‘sajdah’ position, one should move the upper body a little more forward, say by 30-40 degrees.

All the recitations and declarations of the prayer remain exactly the same, regardless of whether one prays standing, sitting, or lying down.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan