If a person is traveling in an airplane or car and the time for prayer arrives, and he does not know the direction of the qiblah, cannot perform ruku' and sujud, and is not in a state of wudu'
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. This question is from the listener Muhammad Ali al-Tayyib, a Sudanese resident in Iraq. He says: Sometimes I am traveling by airplane or car, and the time for prayer enters during the journey. There, I do not know the direction of the qiblah, I am unable to perform ruku' or sujud, I am not in a state of wudu', and I have not found anything with which to perform tayammum. So how should the prayer be performed in such circumstances? I delay it until I arrive so that I can pray it as qada'. Is my action correct or not?
The Shaykh : Your action is not correct. The prayer must be performed in its time, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:103]. And if it is obligatory that it be performed in its time, then it is obligatory for a person to do what is required in it according to his ability, as Allah the Exalted said: [At-Taghabun 64:16] and as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Umaran ibn al-Husayn: Sunan Abi Dawud 952Sahih (Al-Albani). And because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded us to establish the prayer even in the state of war and fighting. If delaying the prayer from its time were permissible for one who is unable to perform what is required in it of conditions, pillars, and obligations, Allah the Exalted would not have made the prayer obligatory in the state of war. And thus it becomes clear that what the brother questioner did, which is delaying the prayer until after its time so that he prays it as qada' based on the fact that he does not know the qiblah, that he does not have water in the airplane, and that he is unable to perform ruku' and sujud, it becomes clear that his action is an error. But what should a person do in such a situation?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We say: He should fear Allah as much as he is able. As for the qiblah, he can ask the flight attendants in the airplane where the direction of the qiblah is, and he should face the direction they indicate to him. This is for the obligatory prayer. As for the voluntary prayer, he prays in whatever direction he is facing, as is well known. As for standing, ruku', and sujud, we tell him: Stand up, because standing is possible and the airplane is in the air. And we tell him: Bow, because ruku' is possible, especially in some airplanes where the space between the seats is wide.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If he is unable to perform ruku', we tell him: Indicate with your head in ruku' while you are standing. As for sujud, we say: Prostrate, and it is most likely that he cannot do so if there is no place prepared for prayer in the airplane. If he is unable to perform sujud, we tell him: Sit down after you stand up from ruku' and perform the obligatory acts. Sit down and indicate with your head in sujud while you are sitting. As for sitting between the two prostrations and for the tashahhud, his situation is clear. And with this, the prayer is completed, and he has feared Allah in it as much as he was able.
As for what concerns wudu', we say: If you do not have water and there is nothing with which you can perform tayammum, then you pray even without wudu' and without tayammum, because that is the limit of your ability and capacity. The important thing is that you do not delay the prayer from its time, except if the prayer is one that can be combined with the one following it. For example, if the journey is during the time of Zuhr and you are able to delay Zuhr until 'Asr, you can combine them as a combination of delay in the time of 'Asr.
The questioner : Is this permissible?
The Shaykh : This is permissible, and in this situation, it becomes obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Your action is not correct. The prayer must be performed in its time, as Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
إن الصلاة كانت على المؤمنين كتاباً موقوتاًSo fear Allah as much as you are able
فاتقوا الله ما استطعتمoffer prayer in standing condition; if you are unable to do so, then in sitting condition: if you are then at your side
صل قائماً فإن لم تستطع فقاعدًا فإن لم تستطع فعلى جنبThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We say: He should fear Allah as much as he is able. As for the qiblah, he can ask the flight attendants in the airplane where the direction of the qiblah is, and he should face the direction they indicate to him. This is for the obligatory prayer. As for the voluntary prayer, he prays in whatever direction he is facing, as is well known. As for standing, ruku', and sujud, we tell him: Stand up, because standing is possible and the airplane is in the air. And we tell him: Bow, because ruku' is possible, especially in some airplanes where the space between the seats is wide.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If he is unable to perform ruku', we tell him: Indicate with your head in ruku' while you are standing. As for sujud, we say: Prostrate, and it is most likely that he cannot do so if there is no place prepared for prayer in the airplane. If he is unable to perform sujud, we tell him: Sit down after you stand up from ruku' and perform the obligatory acts. Sit down and indicate with your head in sujud while you are sitting. As for sitting between the two prostrations and for the tashahhud, his situation is clear. And with this, the prayer is completed, and he has feared Allah in it as much as he was able.
As for what concerns wudu', we say: If you do not have water and there is nothing with which you can perform tayammum, then you pray even without wudu' and without tayammum, because that is the limit of your ability and capacity. The important thing is that you do not delay the prayer from its time, except if the prayer is one that can be combined with the one following it. For example, if the journey is during the time of Zuhr and you are able to delay Zuhr until 'Asr, you can combine them as a combination of delay in the time of 'Asr.
The questioner : Is this permissible?
The Shaykh : This is permissible, and in this situation, it becomes obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.