The Categories of Movements in Prayer
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The questioner: Your Eminence! There is an imam, and I do not know if he is ill or what, but whenever he says the takbir for prayer and finishes the opening takbir, he moves forward two or three steps. It has become a habit for him, and the congregation in the mosque where he prays do not rebuke him for it. But when a stranger or someone praying with him notices that he is walking forward and back, even though he is the imam, what is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh: If this is something beyond his control, he is excused; because some people may have some dizziness, so they try to steady themselves and thus move forward or backward.
And if it is by his own choice, then it is prohibited; because this is movement in prayer without need, and every movement in prayer without need is disliked. Here it is good for us to clarify the categories of movements in prayer.
The categories of movements in prayer are five: There is an obligatory movement, a forbidden movement, a permissible movement, a disliked movement, and a recommended movement.
So the obligatory movement: This is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends. This is the criterion for the obligatory movement, and we will mention two examples for it: The first example: A person remembers that there is impurity on his head covering while he is praying, so it is obligatory for him to move to remove the head covering and continue his prayer. The head covering is a type of what is worn on the head.
The second example: A man is praying in a direction other than the qiblah,So a scholar of the qiblah came to him and said to him: The qiblah is to your right.
So here it is obligatory for him to turn toward the qiblah, and each of these two issues has evidence.
As for the first issue: The evidence for it is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his sandals, and there was dirt in them that he did not know about, so Jibril came to him and informed him of it, so he removed his sandals and continued his prayer.
And as for the second: The people of Quba used to pray the Fajr prayer facing the direction of the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem,And Makkah was behind them, and a messenger came to them and said to them: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was revealed the Qur'an, and he was commanded to face the qiblah, so they faced it, and they turned toward the direction of the Ka'bah while they were praying.
And the recommended movement: This is the movement upon which the performance of a recommended act depends. This is its criterion.
An example of that is: A gap opened up in front of you in the row, and closing the gap is a recommended practice, so you moved forward to this gap. This is a recommended movement. Likewise, drawing close in the row; if there is a gap between you and your neighbor, you draw close to him, so this is also a recommended movement.
And the forbidden movement: This is the movement that is contrary to prayer,Meaning: It is so much that whoever sees you moving says: You are not in prayer. This is forbidden, and its criterion is that it is much and continuous.
The disliked movement: This is the little movement without need, like what happens with some people who fiddle with their pen, or their watch, or their headband, or their shirt in their prayer without need. This is a disliked movement.
The permissible movement: This is the slight movement if it is for a need, or the much movement if it is for a dire necessity.
An example of the slight movement for a need: A person finds it difficult to pray directly on the ground; because it is hot, or because there is thorns in it, or pebbles that hurt his forehead, so he moves, placing a handkerchief to prostrate on it. This is a permissible movement; because it is for a need, but it is slight. The handkerchief should be wide enough to accommodate his two hands and his forehead. This is the best; because if it only accommodates the forehead, it would be a type of imitation of the Rafidah who prostrate on a specific pebble, or on a specific stone,So the scholars said: It is disliked to single out one's forehead with something to prostrate on, because this is the action of the Rafidah. But if he has only a small handkerchief that does not accommodate more than the forehead, and he needs to prostrate on it, there is no harm. This is a slight movement for a need.
And there is the much movement for a dire necessity: If you are praying and a beast attacks you, in this situation you need many and quick movements, so there is no harm in repelling this danger from yourself even if you are in your prayer, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [al-Baqarah: 239] Meaning: If you fear for yourselves, pray standing, meaning: on your feet, even if you are fleeing,Or riding: on mounts.
These are the categories of movements in prayer, so strive to have your heart and limbs be humble, so that your prayer is complete. Allah has praised those who are in their prayer as being humble.
The Shaykh: If this is something beyond his control, he is excused; because some people may have some dizziness, so they try to steady themselves and thus move forward or backward.
And if it is by his own choice, then it is prohibited; because this is movement in prayer without need, and every movement in prayer without need is disliked. Here it is good for us to clarify the categories of movements in prayer.
The categories of movements in prayer are five: There is an obligatory movement, a forbidden movement, a permissible movement, a disliked movement, and a recommended movement.
So the obligatory movement: This is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends. This is the criterion for the obligatory movement, and we will mention two examples for it: The first example: A person remembers that there is impurity on his head covering while he is praying, so it is obligatory for him to move to remove the head covering and continue his prayer. The head covering is a type of what is worn on the head.
The second example: A man is praying in a direction other than the qiblah,So a scholar of the qiblah came to him and said to him: The qiblah is to your right.
So here it is obligatory for him to turn toward the qiblah, and each of these two issues has evidence.
As for the first issue: The evidence for it is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his sandals, and there was dirt in them that he did not know about, so Jibril came to him and informed him of it, so he removed his sandals and continued his prayer.
And as for the second: The people of Quba used to pray the Fajr prayer facing the direction of the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem,And Makkah was behind them, and a messenger came to them and said to them: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was revealed the Qur'an, and he was commanded to face the qiblah, so they faced it, and they turned toward the direction of the Ka'bah while they were praying.
And the recommended movement: This is the movement upon which the performance of a recommended act depends. This is its criterion.
An example of that is: A gap opened up in front of you in the row, and closing the gap is a recommended practice, so you moved forward to this gap. This is a recommended movement. Likewise, drawing close in the row; if there is a gap between you and your neighbor, you draw close to him, so this is also a recommended movement.
And the forbidden movement: This is the movement that is contrary to prayer,Meaning: It is so much that whoever sees you moving says: You are not in prayer. This is forbidden, and its criterion is that it is much and continuous.
The disliked movement: This is the little movement without need, like what happens with some people who fiddle with their pen, or their watch, or their headband, or their shirt in their prayer without need. This is a disliked movement.
The permissible movement: This is the slight movement if it is for a need, or the much movement if it is for a dire necessity.
An example of the slight movement for a need: A person finds it difficult to pray directly on the ground; because it is hot, or because there is thorns in it, or pebbles that hurt his forehead, so he moves, placing a handkerchief to prostrate on it. This is a permissible movement; because it is for a need, but it is slight. The handkerchief should be wide enough to accommodate his two hands and his forehead. This is the best; because if it only accommodates the forehead, it would be a type of imitation of the Rafidah who prostrate on a specific pebble, or on a specific stone,So the scholars said: It is disliked to single out one's forehead with something to prostrate on, because this is the action of the Rafidah. But if he has only a small handkerchief that does not accommodate more than the forehead, and he needs to prostrate on it, there is no harm. This is a slight movement for a need.
And there is the much movement for a dire necessity: If you are praying and a beast attacks you, in this situation you need many and quick movements, so there is no harm in repelling this danger from yourself even if you are in your prayer, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And if you fear [an enemy, then pray] on foot or riding
فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالاً أَوْ رُكْبَاناًThese are the categories of movements in prayer, so strive to have your heart and limbs be humble, so that your prayer is complete. Allah has praised those who are in their prayer as being humble.