How to face the qiblah on a ship when the time for prayer arrives and the canal is winding?
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The questioner : Facing the qiblah on a ship when the canal is winding and the time for prayer has arrived: how should one face the qiblah?
The Shaykh : Facing the qiblah on a ship is very easy, because a person can determine the direction of the qiblah and then face it. If the ship deviates from its original direction, he deviates toward the qiblah, and there is no blame on him in this situation for deviating during the prayer. It is like if someone on land exerted effort and faced a certain qiblah, and then a man came to him and said, "The qiblah is to your right or to your left." If he turns toward the qiblah while he is in his prayer, his prayer is valid. Likewise, if a person on a ship faces the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer, and then the ship deviates from its course or direction of travel, he deviates toward the direction of the qiblah. We also say this regarding an airplane: if the times for prayer pass while he is on the plane and he is unable to land before the time expires, then in this situation he prays on the plane. He faces the qiblah, and if the plane deviates from its initial direction of travel that it had at the beginning of his prayer, he deviates toward the qiblah.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Facing the qiblah on a ship is very easy, because a person can determine the direction of the qiblah and then face it. If the ship deviates from its original direction, he deviates toward the qiblah, and there is no blame on him in this situation for deviating during the prayer. It is like if someone on land exerted effort and faced a certain qiblah, and then a man came to him and said, "The qiblah is to your right or to your left." If he turns toward the qiblah while he is in his prayer, his prayer is valid. Likewise, if a person on a ship faces the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer, and then the ship deviates from its course or direction of travel, he deviates toward the direction of the qiblah. We also say this regarding an airplane: if the times for prayer pass while he is on the plane and he is unable to land before the time expires, then in this situation he prays on the plane. He faces the qiblah, and if the plane deviates from its initial direction of travel that it had at the beginning of his prayer, he deviates toward the qiblah.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.