If a woman is praying and has a small, sick child who is crying intensely during the prayer, is it permissible for her mother to pick her up?
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The questioner : The questioner says: If a woman is praying and has a small, sick child who is crying intensely during the prayer, is it permissible for her mother to pick her up?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a woman to pick up her daughter during the prayer if the child is screaming and crying, because holding her during the prayer is more devout for her in her prayer and emptier for her heart from its attachment to her daughter. This is preferable to leaving her to scream and cry and disturb the mother. Perhaps the mother would rush in a way that invalidates the prayer in order to keep her daughter quiet. Also, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to lead the people in prayer while carrying Umamah, the daughter of his daughter Zaynab, whose father was Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi'. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the people in prayer while carrying this girl; when he stood, he would carry her, and when he prostrated, he would put her down. On this occasion, I would like to remind my Muslim brothers that there are people who do not care about fidgeting in their prayer and excessive movement, even though this diminishes the prayer and may reach the level of invalidating it. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided movement in prayer into five categories: obligatory movement, recommended movement, permissible movement, disliked movement, and forbidden movement. As for obligatory movement: it is that upon which the validity of the prayer depends. An example is if a person is in the open and praying in a direction other than the qiblah, and someone who sees him reminds him that the qiblah is to his right or left. In that case, he must turn toward the qiblah, because with this movement he fulfills an obligation in the prayer, just as the people of Quba did when a messenger came to them while they were praying the Fajr prayer and informed them that the qiblah had been changed to the Ka'bah. They turned while in their prayer and faced the Ka'bah, whereas they had initially been praying toward the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem. Similarly, if a person remembers while praying that there is impurity on his head covering, he must throw it away, and this is obligatory movement because the obligation of prayer is not completed without it. As for recommended movement: it is that by which something recommended in the prayer is achieved, such as if a gap opens up in front of him in the row and he moves forward to fill it, or if he enters the prayer with one ma'mum behind him and then another arrives, so the imam moves forward so that both ma'mums are behind him.
As for disliked movement: it is slight movement without need, such as what some people do by fidgeting with their beard, or their nose, or their pen, or their watch, or their head covering. All of this is disliked without need. However, if it is for a need, such as if he feels an itch that requires scratching, he scratches it, and there is nothing wrong with this, because the movement in his case is less severe than the distraction of the heart caused by the itch he is experiencing. As for forbidden movement: it is excessive, continuous movement by custom, without dire necessity.
As for permissible movement: it is everything else, such as if someone knocks on the door and the door is close to him, so he moves forward and opens the door for him, and the like of that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a woman to pick up her daughter during the prayer if the child is screaming and crying, because holding her during the prayer is more devout for her in her prayer and emptier for her heart from its attachment to her daughter. This is preferable to leaving her to scream and cry and disturb the mother. Perhaps the mother would rush in a way that invalidates the prayer in order to keep her daughter quiet. Also, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to lead the people in prayer while carrying Umamah, the daughter of his daughter Zaynab, whose father was Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi'. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the people in prayer while carrying this girl; when he stood, he would carry her, and when he prostrated, he would put her down. On this occasion, I would like to remind my Muslim brothers that there are people who do not care about fidgeting in their prayer and excessive movement, even though this diminishes the prayer and may reach the level of invalidating it. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided movement in prayer into five categories: obligatory movement, recommended movement, permissible movement, disliked movement, and forbidden movement. As for obligatory movement: it is that upon which the validity of the prayer depends. An example is if a person is in the open and praying in a direction other than the qiblah, and someone who sees him reminds him that the qiblah is to his right or left. In that case, he must turn toward the qiblah, because with this movement he fulfills an obligation in the prayer, just as the people of Quba did when a messenger came to them while they were praying the Fajr prayer and informed them that the qiblah had been changed to the Ka'bah. They turned while in their prayer and faced the Ka'bah, whereas they had initially been praying toward the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem. Similarly, if a person remembers while praying that there is impurity on his head covering, he must throw it away, and this is obligatory movement because the obligation of prayer is not completed without it. As for recommended movement: it is that by which something recommended in the prayer is achieved, such as if a gap opens up in front of him in the row and he moves forward to fill it, or if he enters the prayer with one ma'mum behind him and then another arrives, so the imam moves forward so that both ma'mums are behind him.
As for disliked movement: it is slight movement without need, such as what some people do by fidgeting with their beard, or their nose, or their pen, or their watch, or their head covering. All of this is disliked without need. However, if it is for a need, such as if he feels an itch that requires scratching, he scratches it, and there is nothing wrong with this, because the movement in his case is less severe than the distraction of the heart caused by the itch he is experiencing. As for forbidden movement: it is excessive, continuous movement by custom, without dire necessity.
As for permissible movement: it is everything else, such as if someone knocks on the door and the door is close to him, so he moves forward and opens the door for him, and the like of that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh Muhammad.