The Ruling on Praying on a Mount in Travel
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What is the ruling on facing the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer on a mount in travel when saying the takbir?
A traveler is permitted to perform voluntary prayers on his mount facing the qiblah or in any other direction; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray on his mount wherever it faced, except that he did not pray the obligatory prayers on it.
And the best is: If it is not difficult to begin the takbir of ihram while facing the qiblah and perform the remaining pillars in the direction of travel, then if he does not do so, there is no blame on him and the prayer is valid; because the objective is to facilitate voluntary prayer for the one obligated to worship so that he can perform the voluntary prayer without hardship. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not permissible on a mount except out of dire necessity,For example: such as when there are rains or violent winds that prevent a person from dismounting to the ground, and he fears missing the time. This is a dire necessity. But if there is no dire necessity, he must stand and pray on the ground, unless the mount is spacious, like a ship for example, where he is able to face the qiblah and perform standing, bowing, prostration, and sitting. In that case, there is nothing wrong with him praying even without dire necessity. Thus, there is a difference between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer.
A traveler is permitted to perform voluntary prayers on his mount facing the qiblah or in any other direction; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray on his mount wherever it faced, except that he did not pray the obligatory prayers on it.
And the best is: If it is not difficult to begin the takbir of ihram while facing the qiblah and perform the remaining pillars in the direction of travel, then if he does not do so, there is no blame on him and the prayer is valid; because the objective is to facilitate voluntary prayer for the one obligated to worship so that he can perform the voluntary prayer without hardship. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not permissible on a mount except out of dire necessity,For example: such as when there are rains or violent winds that prevent a person from dismounting to the ground, and he fears missing the time. This is a dire necessity. But if there is no dire necessity, he must stand and pray on the ground, unless the mount is spacious, like a ship for example, where he is able to face the qiblah and perform standing, bowing, prostration, and sitting. In that case, there is nothing wrong with him praying even without dire necessity. Thus, there is a difference between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer.