How does a sick person pray and perform wudu? Please inform us about this, and may Allah reward you.
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The questioner : How does a sick person pray and perform wudu? Please inform us about this, and may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : As for how he performs wudu, it is obligatory for him to perform wudu with water if he is able to use it without harm, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:6] meaning, and wash your feet to the ankles. If water harms him or he is unable to use it, he performs tayammum, based on His saying, the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:43].
The method of tayammum is to strike the ground with his hands once, then wipe his face and his palms with them, wiping one palm with the other. This is the method of tayammum for one who cannot purify himself with water. When the sick person performs tayammum, this tayammum takes the place of wudu. As long as he remains in a state of purity and it is not broken by any of the things that break it, he is not required to repeat the tayammum, even if he remains from morning until 'Isha', because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said after mentioning tayammum:[Al-Ma'idah 5:6], and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 567Sahih (Darussalam). Al-tahur (with a fathah on the ha) is that by which one purifies oneself, so the noble verse and the Prophetic hadith indicate that tayammum is a means of purification, except that its purity is temporary. When the excuse that permits tayammum is removed, it is obligatory for him to use water. So if he performs tayammum for janabah due to the absence of water and then finds water, it is obligatory for him to perform ghusl, even if the janabah has not recurred. The evidence for this is the hadith of Abu Sa'id, which al-Bukhari narrated at length in the story of the man whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw sitting apart from the people, not having prayed with them, so he asked him: Sunan al-Bayhaqi 1:954. Then water was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the people drank from it and were satisfied, and a remainder was left, so he gave this man this remainder and said: . This indicates that tayammum is only a means of purification at the time when its use is permissible. As for when the excuse that permits it is removed, his state of impurity returns to him, and it is obligatory for him to use water when he intends to pray.
As for how the sick person prays, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it by his saying to 'Imran ibn Husayn:Sunan Abi Dawud 952Sahih (Al-Albani). It is obligatory for the sick person to face the qiblah and pray standing, even if he is leaning on a stick, a wall, a pillar, or something similar. If he cannot stand, he prays sitting. In his sitting, he should be in a sitting position with his feet to the side (mutarabbia'), not with his feet spread out (mufatarsa'), and he nods for the ruku'. In the sujud, he prostrates on the ground if he is able. If he is not able, he nods for the sujud as well. He sits between the two prostrations and in the tashahhud as he would sit in the usual manner.
It is obligatory for the sick person to avoid in his prayer everything that a healthy person avoids, such as impurities and others. He prays in pure clothes and prays on a pure bed. If he has impure clothes that he cannot remove, he prays in them and there is no obligation on him to repeat the prayer, due to his inability to remove these clothes, unless it is possible to wash them, such as if the impurity is at the bottom of the clothes and he can wash them, then he should wash them. Likewise, if the bed is impure, it is obligatory for him to remove it so that he prays on something pure. If it cannot be removed, he spreads something pure over it and prays on it. If that is not possible, he prays on it even if it is impure, if he is unable to move away from it. All these facilitations are taken from His saying, the Exalted:[At-Taghabun 64:16] and His saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:286], and from the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih al-Bukhari 7288.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : As for how he performs wudu, it is obligatory for him to perform wudu with water if he is able to use it without harm, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِAnd 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
وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مَرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُواThe method of tayammum is to strike the ground with his hands once, then wipe his face and his palms with them, wiping one palm with the other. This is the method of tayammum for one who cannot purify himself with water. When the sick person performs tayammum, this tayammum takes the place of wudu. As long as he remains in a state of purity and it is not broken by any of the things that break it, he is not required to repeat the tayammum, even if he remains from morning until 'Isha', because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said after mentioning tayammum:
Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you
مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِنْ يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْthe earth has been made for me a place of worship and a means of purification.
جعلت لي الأرض مسجداً وطهوراًWhat prevented you from praying with the people? He said: O Messenger of Allah! I was in a state of janabah and there was no water. He said: Use the clean earth, for it is sufficient for you.
ما منعك أن يصلي في القوم، فقال: يا رسول الله! أصابتني جنابة ولا ماء؟ فقال: عليك بالصعيد فإنه يكفيكTake this and pour it over yourself
خذ هذا أفرغه على نفسكAs for how the sick person prays, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it by his saying to 'Imran ibn Husayn:
offer 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 فقاعداً، فإن لم تستطع فعلى جنبIt is obligatory for the sick person to avoid in his prayer everything that a healthy person avoids, such as impurities and others. He prays in pure clothes and prays on a pure bed. If he has impure clothes that he cannot remove, he prays in them and there is no obligation on him to repeat the prayer, due to his inability to remove these clothes, unless it is possible to wash them, such as if the impurity is at the bottom of the clothes and he can wash them, then he should wash them. Likewise, if the bed is impure, it is obligatory for him to remove it so that he prays on something pure. If it cannot be removed, he spreads something pure over it and prays on it. If that is not possible, he prays on it even if it is impure, if he is unable to move away from it. All these facilitations are taken from His saying, the Exalted:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاAnd if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فأتوا منه ما استطعتمThe questioner : May Allah reward you.