The ruling on praying in front of a fire and in front of an electric heater
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
You are asking, Honorable Shaykh (may Allah preserve you), about praying in front of a fire and the embers we use for heating in the winter season, and what is the ruling on praying in front of an electric heater?
Answer:
As for praying while a burning fire is in front of a person, whether from embers or from kindling, this is disliked. The scholars mentioned that this is disliked because one faces the fire, as this involves imitating the Zoroastrians who worship fire, whether the fire is in a fireplace, a lamp, or something else. As for electricity, this is not fire in reality; it is not fire, but rather electrical energy that is not fire. So it is permissible to pray with a lit bulb or bulbs in front of him; there is no harm in that, because this is not fire. Likewise, the electric heater is exactly like the bulbs; it is a bulb.
You are asking, Honorable Shaykh (may Allah preserve you), about praying in front of a fire and the embers we use for heating in the winter season, and what is the ruling on praying in front of an electric heater?
Answer:
As for praying while a burning fire is in front of a person, whether from embers or from kindling, this is disliked. The scholars mentioned that this is disliked because one faces the fire, as this involves imitating the Zoroastrians who worship fire, whether the fire is in a fireplace, a lamp, or something else. As for electricity, this is not fire in reality; it is not fire, but rather electrical energy that is not fire. So it is permissible to pray with a lit bulb or bulbs in front of him; there is no harm in that, because this is not fire. Likewise, the electric heater is exactly like the bulbs; it is a bulb.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5873- حكم الصلاة أمام النار وأمام دفاية الكهرباء - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.