I prayed sitting on a boat and was unable to stand for fear of falling into the sea. Do I have to repeat the prayer after getting out onto the shore?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. I prayed on a small boat in the sea while sitting, and I was unable to stand because I could not maintain my balance and I feared falling into the sea due to the high waves. I informed the Shaykh of the town about this, and he told me to pray sitting because of the sanctity of the time, and then to repeat the prayer after getting out onto the shore. I repeated the prayer out of caution. Is this statement correct? Since I was unable to get out onto the shore to pray standing due to the shortness of time? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
What you did is the obligatory act. If you fear that the time will end while you are at sea and you are unable to stand, then you pray while sitting, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Taghabun 64:16] and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih al-Bukhari 7288 So if you are unable to stand, the time is about to end, and you are at sea, then you pray while sitting; because this is what you are able to do, and you are not required to repeat the prayer. There is no repetition required of you.
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Because your prayer is valid, and praise be to Allah. Standing is obligatory only with the ability to do so. If you are unable, then the pillar of standing is dropped from you. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. Is the fatwa given by the Shaykh of the village incorrect?
The Shaykh:
What he issued a fatwa on has no evidence for it, so it is incorrect.
The presenter:
O Allah, send blessings upon...
May Allah reward you with good. I prayed on a small boat in the sea while sitting, and I was unable to stand because I could not maintain my balance and I feared falling into the sea due to the high waves. I informed the Shaykh of the town about this, and he told me to pray sitting because of the sanctity of the time, and then to repeat the prayer after getting out onto the shore. I repeated the prayer out of caution. Is this statement correct? Since I was unable to get out onto the shore to pray standing due to the shortness of time? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
What you did is the obligatory act. If you fear that the time will end while you are at sea and you are unable to stand, then you pray while sitting, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAnd if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فأتوا منه ما استطعتمThe presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Because your prayer is valid, and praise be to Allah. Standing is obligatory only with the ability to do so. If you are unable, then the pillar of standing is dropped from you. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. Is the fatwa given by the Shaykh of the village incorrect?
The Shaykh:
What he issued a fatwa on has no evidence for it, so it is incorrect.
The presenter:
O Allah, send blessings upon...
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، صليت جالسا على القارب، ولم أستطع القيام خشية أن أسقط في البحر فهل أعيد الصلاة بعد الخروج إلى الشاطئ. — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.