Is prayer prescribed when earthquakes, volcanoes, and similar events occur?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says: We have a doctor at the college who says that it is prescribed for us, when a sign from the signs of Allah occurs, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and others, that we pray a prayer in the manner of the eclipse prayer. He cites the hadithMishkat al-Masabih 1325. What is the validity of this ruling?
The Shaykh:
This is incorrect. We do not pray in cases other than the eclipse. If an incident occurs, we engage in supplication, repentance to Allah the Exalted, and fear of His punishment. As for praying, this requires evidence. It requires evidence, for acts of worship are based on specific texts, my brother. There must be evidence that prayer is prescribed during floods or during disasters. But supplication, supplication is prescribed. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father.
The Shaykh:
He (peace and blessings be upon him), when a matter distressed him, meaning when the world became narrow for him and worries piled up upon him, he sought to alleviate it through prayer and turning to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said:[Al-Baqarah 2:45] seek help [Al-Baqarah 2:153]. What is its meaning? That when disasters occur, you pray. It means that if a matter becomes difficult for you, or a matter worries you, or you are afraid, then you pray and supplicate to Allah the Exalted. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says: We have a doctor at the college who says that it is prescribed for us, when a sign from the signs of Allah occurs, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and others, that we pray a prayer in the manner of the eclipse prayer. He cites the hadith
when anything distressed the Prophet he prayed
كان الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا حزبه أمر صلىThe Shaykh:
This is incorrect. We do not pray in cases other than the eclipse. If an incident occurs, we engage in supplication, repentance to Allah the Exalted, and fear of His punishment. As for praying, this requires evidence. It requires evidence, for acts of worship are based on specific texts, my brother. There must be evidence that prayer is prescribed during floods or during disasters. But supplication, supplication is prescribed. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father.
The Shaykh:
He (peace and blessings be upon him), when a matter distressed him, meaning when the world became narrow for him and worries piled up upon him, he sought to alleviate it through prayer and turning to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said:
And seek help through patience and prayer
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِO you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [905- 4717] هل تشرع الصلاة عند وقوع الزلازل والبراكين ونحوها؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.