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:

 Assalamalakum

Thankyou for the great job you are doing here from the bottom of my heart;

I have a question about travelling and Salah that many Muslims face.

a. We went to a theme park EuroDisney, we had no facilities for Salaat; and we were travelling. Do we have to physically perform the travelling Salaat in Jamaat as we were a group in Public and there really was no private facility whatsoever? or can we do it sitting down and indicating the movements? We prayed Maghrib in Jamaat in the open, quite intimidating for us, and some salaat Zuhr, Ar sitting down in the restaurant?

Please elaborate on this as much as possible using the Quran And Sunnah as it affects a lot of people.

b. Second question was on the Adab of going to the Toilet, I was informed we must have four walls around us when reliveing, is this correct?

(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:

Traveling and prayer

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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: Do we have to physically perform the travelling Salaat in Jamaat as we were a group in Public and there really was no private facility whatsoever? or can we do it sitting down and indicating the movements? We prayed Maghrib in Jamaat in the open, quite intimidating for us, and some salaat Zuhr, Ar sitting down in the restaurant?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed the Salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed by the believers at appointed times.

Your Question: Do we have to physically perform the travelling Salaat in Jamaat as we were a group in Public and there really was no private facility whatsoever?

If one is in the company of believers, it would be highly recommended and 25-27 times more meritorious to perform one’s obligatory prayers in congregation; regardless of whether one is in the state of traveling or not.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 101:

When you go on a journey, there is no harm, if you shorten your salaat, (especially) when you fear that the disbelievers might harass you, for the disbelievers are openly bent upon enmity against you.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.67

Allah the Exalted has conferred a special blessing upon this Muslim Ummah - that is, the whole earth has been declared a mosque for it. Therefore, when the time for prayer comes, a Muslim may pray wherever he may be. Abu Dharr al-Ghaffari reports that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Wherever you may be, at the time of salah, you may pray for it [the earth] is all a mosque."

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

It is Sunnah to shorten the prayers when one is in the state of travel, and if one wishes, one may even join the Dhuhr and Asr, and the Magrib and Isha prayers together as was the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws). If one is at a place where no private facility for prayer is provided, one may pray anywhere one finds space, for it is a special mercy and favor upon the Ummah of Prophet Mohammed (saws) that He has declared the whole earth as a ‘masjid’ for the believers.

Your Question: or can we do it sitting down and indicating the movements?

Reported 'Umar ibn Hussain, "I had some physical problem, so I asked the Prophet (saws) about the prayer, and he (saws) said, 'Pray standing; if you are not able to; pray sitting, if you are not able to; pray (while lying) on your side."

(Related by al-Bukhari.)

If one has a valid excuse (sick, ill, unable to stand, etc.) then there is no harm in offering one’s obligatory prayers in a sitting position, but under normal circumstances the ‘Qiyam’ (the standing in prayer) is a condition of the obligatory prayer. Also there is absolutely no harm if one prays the ‘nafl’ or supererogatory prayers while in a sitting position.

Thus, if the time of obligatory prayer approaches, and there is enough space available for one to offer their prayers in a standing position, the person has no valid excuse to pray their obligatory prayer in a sitting position.

Your Question: We prayed Maghrib in Jamaat in the open, quite intimidating for us, and some salaat Zuhr, Ar sitting down in the restaurant?
Whenever a believer has to obey any command of Allah and His Messenger (saws) and for any reason feels intimidated by the disbelievers or their reaction, all he has to do is ask himself a self-answering simple question: ‘Who is more worthy of deserving my obedience, Allah or man?’ or ‘Whose pleasure am I seeking doing this deed, Allah’s or man’s?’

If the answer is Allah’s Pleasure and Obedience, then allow the disbelievers to think or say or react any which way they please; for if the Lord Most Gracious is happy with our deed, care not nor be intimidated in the least regarding the reaction of the disbelievers.

May Allah Subhanah accept your obedience and your prayers you offered in the intimidating situation, and reward you generously for your piety.

Your Question: Second question was on the Adab of going to the Toilet, I was informed we must have four walls around us when reliveing, is this correct?

It is not permissible in Islam for a believer to display his ‘satr’ body parts to anyone except his spouse; thus when one has to relieve himself, it is best done in absolute privacy where none would be able to see his ‘satr’ body parts.

If one has access to a private covered toilet, then it is obviously best to use them to relieve oneself; but if one happens to be traveling in the desert or the jungle or places where there is absolutely no access to proper toilets, there is absolutely no harm if one relieves oneself in the open, provided he makes sure that no one is able to see him. Having four walls is not a condition for relieving oneself, but what is obligatory is none is able to view the ‘satr’ body parts of the person.

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