Is it permissible for a sick person to leave off the prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. We are taking a call from Jeddah. Go ahead, my brother 'Ali. Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, Abu Rakan. And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings. How are you, Shaykh Salih?
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you.
The questioner:
May Allah give you health, my brother, long may you live. He has been in the hospital for twenty days. Should he make up the prayers he missed, or not?
The Shaykh:
Yes, a Muslim does not leave off the prayer as long as his mind is intact, whether he is in the hospital or elsewhere. However, he prays according to his condition,[Al-Baqarah 2:286]. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, lying on his back with his feet pointing toward the qiblah. So a Muslim does not leave off the prayer as long as his mind is intact, and he prays it according to his ability. If he is able to perform ritual purity with water, it is obligatory for him to do so. If he is not able to perform ritual purity with water, he performs tayammum with dust and prays, and praise be to Allah. It is a mistake to leave off the prayer for ten days or more, or even one day, or to leave off one obligatory prayer on the excuse that he is sick. This is not permissible. Yes.
The questioner:
No, it was ten days. He was feeling unwell once, Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
Even if he is feeling unwell, as long as his mind is with him, he prays the prayer in its time. And if he needs to combine the prayers, he combines them as well, and he does not leave off the prayer. Yes.
May Allah reward you. We are taking a call from Jeddah. Go ahead, my brother 'Ali. Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, Abu Rakan. And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings. How are you, Shaykh Salih?
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you.
The questioner:
May Allah give you health, my brother, long may you live. He has been in the hospital for twenty days. Should he make up the prayers he missed, or not?
The Shaykh:
Yes, a Muslim does not leave off the prayer as long as his mind is intact, whether he is in the hospital or elsewhere. However, he prays according to his condition,
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاThe sick person prays standing. If he cannot, then sitting. If he cannot, then on his side. And if he cannot
يصلي المريض قائما، فإن لم يستطع فقاعدا، فإن لم يستطع فعلى جنب، وإن لم يستطعThe questioner:
No, it was ten days. He was feeling unwell once, Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
Even if he is feeling unwell, as long as his mind is with him, he prays the prayer in its time. And if he needs to combine the prayers, he combines them as well, and he does not leave off the prayer. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجو للمريض أن يترك الصلاة؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.