What should one do if he is able to stand for part of the prayer but unable to stand for the rest?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is your opinion if a person is unable to stand for the entire unit of prayer, but he is able to stand for part of it, meaning he can stand for half of the recitation, or a portion of the recitation? Do we say that he should begin the prayer sitting, then stand up when he is about to bow? Or do we say that he should begin it standing, and if it becomes difficult for him, he should sit down?
The Shaykh : Huh? The second one. The first one, he says, "This is my ability. I am not able to do anything but stand. So either I begin it standing and then sit down when it becomes difficult, or I begin it sitting and then stand up when I am about to bow." The first one, the first one. Okay, you didn't leave anything out, yes.
The questioner : And we sleep from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for the night.
The Shaykh : Yes, and what did he say? He used to sit, and then when he reached the bowing, he would stand up and bow. Yes, indeed. If we look at the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer, we see that when it became heavy for him (peace and blessings be upon him), he would stand for the night prayer sitting down. So when he had only a few verses left, he would stand up, then bow, then recite and bow. If we look at this, we say the recommended practice (sunnah) is to begin it sitting, then stand up. And if we look at the fact that standing in the obligatory prayer is a pillar, we say we begin with the pillar first, and then if it becomes difficult for you, you sit down. And we also say that perhaps you think it will be difficult for you, but it will not be. You should strive to do this; perhaps you will be able to recite the opening chapter (al-Fatihah) and bow, even if you do not recite the surahs that follow it. Yes, and this issue requires clarification. So, whoever looks at the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer prefers that he sit, praying while sitting, and then stand up when he is about to bow. And whoever looks at the fact that standing is a pillar, and that it is better to begin with the pillar, and then if we are unable to do it, we sit down, this requires clarification and a look at the disagreement among scholars regarding it.
The Shaykh : Huh? The second one. The first one, he says, "This is my ability. I am not able to do anything but stand. So either I begin it standing and then sit down when it becomes difficult, or I begin it sitting and then stand up when I am about to bow." The first one, the first one. Okay, you didn't leave anything out, yes.
The questioner : And we sleep from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for the night.
The Shaykh : Yes, and what did he say? He used to sit, and then when he reached the bowing, he would stand up and bow. Yes, indeed. If we look at the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer, we see that when it became heavy for him (peace and blessings be upon him), he would stand for the night prayer sitting down. So when he had only a few verses left, he would stand up, then bow, then recite and bow. If we look at this, we say the recommended practice (sunnah) is to begin it sitting, then stand up. And if we look at the fact that standing in the obligatory prayer is a pillar, we say we begin with the pillar first, and then if it becomes difficult for you, you sit down. And we also say that perhaps you think it will be difficult for you, but it will not be. You should strive to do this; perhaps you will be able to recite the opening chapter (al-Fatihah) and bow, even if you do not recite the surahs that follow it. Yes, and this issue requires clarification. So, whoever looks at the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer prefers that he sit, praying while sitting, and then stand up when he is about to bow. And whoever looks at the fact that standing is a pillar, and that it is better to begin with the pillar, and then if we are unable to do it, we sit down, this requires clarification and a look at the disagreement among scholars regarding it.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 3673من قدر على بعض القيام وعجز عن بعضه ماذا يفعل؟📔 الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.