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:

I have had an operation on my toe and am not able to do certain parts of namaz cos i cant bend my foot/toe or let it touch the floor. i was sitting in a chair in front of my bed and doing namaaz on chair and sajdah onto the bed. but after doing research im confused as some state u shudnt use anything to do sajdah on and shud bow ur head? others say i shud stand as much as i can (atleast for takhbir - what does takhbir mean by the way?) and sit down only on the parts i cannot do.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Praying in a sitting posture

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’. 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 at his place of residence."

Your Question: ….others say i shud stand as much as i can (atleast for takhbir - what does takhbir mean by the way?) and sit down only on the parts i cannot do.

The term ‘takbeer’, when used in the Islamic terminology means the declaration of the Greatness of Allah or stating ‘Allah-o-Akbar’. The ‘takbeer’ is normally declared every time one moves posture in one’s rite of prayer, and especially at the start of the prayer when one is required to raise one hands above one’s shoulder and declare the ‘takbeer’ to signal the start of the prayer.

If one has a physical ailment, one has an allowance to offer their prayers in a sitting posture. But if one has enough physical ability to stand without much discomfort or fear that their ailment might deteriorate, then it would be better and preferred that they start their prayer in a standing posture, raise their hands above their shoulders, declare the ‘takbeer’ to signal the start of prayer, and then either continue standing or sit down and continue with their recitation required for prayer.

Your Question: ….i was sitting in a chair in front of my bed and doing namaaz on chair and sajdah onto the bed. but after doing research im confused as some state u shudnt use anything to do sajdah on and shud bow ur head?

To the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no harm if because of your ailment you chose to offer your prayers while sitting on a chair and making the sajdah on the bed in front of you. But even if there was no place (like the bed in this instance) to place your head on during the sajdah, a bowing posture for sajdah itself would have more than sufficed to fulfill that rite of prayer.

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