Fatwa 1

بوح القلم · 01-12-2008, 04:38 PM

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Question: I am a taxicab driver who lives in a country at an extreme northern latitude. In the winter, the days are short and the prayer times are very close together. I often find myself at prayer times in localities where there is no mosque, the weather is bitterly cold, and there is snow on the ground everywhere. In such circumstances, may I offer my prayers seated in the car?

Answered by Sheikh Muhammad Muhammad Sâlim `Abd al-Wadûd

The basic ruling in Islam is that a person should offer the obligatory prayers in the manner that they are prescribed, observing all the pillars of prayer, which includes standing, bowing, and prostrating fully.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was traveling, he would offer his voluntary prayers on saddleback. However, when he wanted to offer one of the obligatory prayers, he would get down from his mount and offer those prayers in their proper form and facing the qiblah. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

If a person finds himself in a situation where he cannot offer his prayers in their full form and the prayer is one of those which can be combined with another (Zuhr with `Asr, or Maghrib with `Ishâ'), then he should combine those prayers at the time of either of them when he can offer them properly.

For instance, if he knows he has difficulties on his job, he can offer Zuhr and `Asr together at the time of Zuhr beforehand and Maghrib with `Ishâ' afterwards late at night, giving him a wide range of flexibility. However, if he is not traveling at the time, he may not shorten those prayers. He may combine them, but hemust offer each of those prayers in full.

This is better than offering his prayers in an incomplete manner.

If a person is in a situation where he fears missing the time of prayer altogether (like when he needs to offer the `Asr prayer before Maghrib, the Fajr prayer before sunrise, or the `Ishâ' prayer before dawn), then if he is in a situation where he cannot get out of his car due to extreme cold or rain or gale force wind, then he may offer his prayers in seated in the car.

It is narrated – albeit with a somewhat weak chain of transmission – that the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was traveling when the prayer time arrived. It was raining and the rains continued, with the ground becoming soaked. The Prophet (peacebe upon him) prayed in the saddle on that occasion and bent forward to represent the bows and prostrations of prayer, bending forward more to represent the prostrations.

The same practice is related from Anas b. Mâlik. [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (411)]

These circumstances come under the general ruling of Allah's statement: "Fear Allah as much as you are able to." [Sûrah al-Taghâbûn: 16]

And Allah knows best.