Rulings on the Prayer of the Sick Person
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner, Umm Abdullah, says: Honorable Shaykh, we see some women, may Allah guide them, especially in hospitals, who abandon the prayer while they are in their hospital beds, and some of them do not pray unless they leave the hospital. I would like the Shaykh to speak about the most important rulings regarding the prayer of the sick person, and what is obligatory for these women, whether they are men or women?
Answer:
The prayer is not dropped from the Muslim as long as his mind remains, whether he is sick, traveling, or has any other excuse, or is afraid; the prayer is not dropped from him in any case as long as his mind remains, but he prays according to his condition. Fear Allah as much as you are able. The sick person prays according to his ability. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And if he cannot do that, then he lies on his back with his feet toward the qiblah.
So the prayer is not dropped in any case as long as the mind is present, but he prays according to his ability. So these people have erred, and this is not specific to women; many men also say, "As long as I am in the hospital, I am unable to pray as required. My clothes are impure, I am unable to perform wudu," and then he abandons the prayer for a period. And when he leaves, he says, "I will make up the missed prayers." Who gives you this fatwa?
It is not permissible. You pray according to your condition. You pray according to your condition. The one who cannot perform wudu performs tayammum with earth. If he has some earth, even a little, he performs tayammum. He strikes it and wipes his face and his hands, and he prays. Allah has made things easy, Glorified and Exalted is He.
[An-Nisa 4:43]. So the excuse for tayammum is either one of two things: either the illness that prevents one from using water, or the travel of a traveler who has no water. Yes.
This questioner, Umm Abdullah, says: Honorable Shaykh, we see some women, may Allah guide them, especially in hospitals, who abandon the prayer while they are in their hospital beds, and some of them do not pray unless they leave the hospital. I would like the Shaykh to speak about the most important rulings regarding the prayer of the sick person, and what is obligatory for these women, whether they are men or women?
Answer:
The prayer is not dropped from the Muslim as long as his mind remains, whether he is sick, traveling, or has any other excuse, or is afraid; the prayer is not dropped from him in any case as long as his mind remains, but he prays according to his condition. Fear Allah as much as you are able. The sick person prays according to his ability. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The sick person prays standing, and if he cannot do that, then sitting, and if he cannot do that, then on his side.
يصلي المريض قائما فان لم يستطع فقاعدا فان لم يستطع فعلى جنبSo the prayer is not dropped in any case as long as the mind is present, but he prays according to his ability. So these people have erred, and this is not specific to women; many men also say, "As long as I am in the hospital, I am unable to pray as required. My clothes are impure, I am unable to perform wudu," and then he abandons the prayer for a period. And when he leaves, he says, "I will make up the missed prayers." Who gives you this fatwa?
It is not permissible. You pray according to your condition. You pray according to your condition. The one who cannot perform wudu performs tayammum with earth. If he has some earth, even a little, he performs tayammum. He strikes it and wipes his face and his hands, and he prays. Allah has made things easy, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth
وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/296 — archive.org (8:56)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
