Facing the Qiblah in Prayer on Vessels
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. In prayer on vessels such as ships, airplanes, and cars, it may not be possible to face the Qiblah. Is it obligatory?
Answer:
If he is able to face the Qiblah, it is obligatory for him to do so, because this is a condition for the validity of the prayer. If he is unable to do so, he prays in the direction he faces, in the direction toward which he is able to pray. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Taghabun 64:16] and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:115], so his Qiblah is the direction toward which he is able to face. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. In prayer on vessels such as ships, airplanes, and cars, it may not be possible to face the Qiblah. Is it obligatory?
Answer:
If he is able to face the Qiblah, it is obligatory for him to do so, because this is a condition for the validity of the prayer. If he is unable to do so, he prays in the direction he faces, in the direction toward which he is able to pray. Allah the Exalted said:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAnd to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من باب ما جاء فيمن يلازم بقعة بعينها من المسجد — islamhouse.com (49:39)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.