Ruling on a woman praying in the wrong direction without knowledge
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Yes, may you live long, I have a question, may Allah keep you safe.
The presenter:
Please proceed.
The questioner:
We performed Hajj about twenty-two years ago, and the standing at 'Arafah coincided with a Friday. There were many pilgrims, and we were at 'Arafah, and the water was, I mean, a bit scarce. After we prayed, my mahram asked me, saying, "We prayed without facing the qiblah. Should I repeat the prayer?" The time for the prayer had already passed, so I told her, "Do not repeat it, because there was no water." I told her that I had issued a fatwa on my own. I said, "It is fine." Then my companions who were with me on Hajj said, "No, we said she should repeat the prayer." I did not say anything to them, and I did not feel any distress in my heart.
The Shaykh:
By Allah, my brother, it was not right for you to issue a fatwa without knowledge. If she was significantly off from the qiblah, with the qiblah behind her or to her side, then her prayer is not valid, because she was with the people, and you can see the qiblah at 'Arafah; there are markers for the qiblah, it is not hidden, you can ask the people.
The questioner:
To, to, to the visible mountain.
The Shaykh:
Her prayer is not valid. The qiblah is not the mountain; the qiblah is the Ka'bah, my brother.
The questioner:
What is on me, may you live long? Well, now, because I made a mistake, I am being honest, and I issued a fatwa for them because I was going to be in a difficult situation because there was no water, that is what I said.
The Shaykh:
If you know her, or know one of her relatives, you should order her to pray, to make up this prayer. If you do not know her, or if she has died, then you must seek forgiveness and not return to something like this. May Allah forgive us, you, and her. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Yes, may you live long, I have a question, may Allah keep you safe.
The presenter:
Please proceed.
The questioner:
We performed Hajj about twenty-two years ago, and the standing at 'Arafah coincided with a Friday. There were many pilgrims, and we were at 'Arafah, and the water was, I mean, a bit scarce. After we prayed, my mahram asked me, saying, "We prayed without facing the qiblah. Should I repeat the prayer?" The time for the prayer had already passed, so I told her, "Do not repeat it, because there was no water." I told her that I had issued a fatwa on my own. I said, "It is fine." Then my companions who were with me on Hajj said, "No, we said she should repeat the prayer." I did not say anything to them, and I did not feel any distress in my heart.
The Shaykh:
By Allah, my brother, it was not right for you to issue a fatwa without knowledge. If she was significantly off from the qiblah, with the qiblah behind her or to her side, then her prayer is not valid, because she was with the people, and you can see the qiblah at 'Arafah; there are markers for the qiblah, it is not hidden, you can ask the people.
The questioner:
To, to, to the visible mountain.
The Shaykh:
Her prayer is not valid. The qiblah is not the mountain; the qiblah is the Ka'bah, my brother.
The questioner:
What is on me, may you live long? Well, now, because I made a mistake, I am being honest, and I issued a fatwa for them because I was going to be in a difficult situation because there was no water, that is what I said.
The Shaykh:
If you know her, or know one of her relatives, you should order her to pray, to make up this prayer. If you do not know her, or if she has died, then you must seek forgiveness and not return to something like this. May Allah forgive us, you, and her. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
فتاوى على الهواء 13-10-1436هـ — af.org.sa (34:34)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.