Some people prayed on Friday while standing, without bowing or prostrating, due to an inability to do so and severe crowding, but they intended to bow and said, “Glory be to my Lord, the Great.”
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, he saysThe questioner : Some people prayed on Friday while standing, without bowing or prostrating, due to an inability to do so and severe crowding, but they intended to bow and said, “Glory be to my Lord, the Great,” and completed the rest of the prayer in this manner. Is their prayer valid?
The Shaykh : The scholars say that if there is crowding, a person must bow and prostrate, because those in front of him will bow and prostrate or indicate them, so he should do as they do. If he bows and lowers his back for the bowing, it is not obligatory for him to bow completely as he does when there is space. As for prostration, he should sit and then indicate the prostration by nodding. Some scholars said that one should prostrate on the back of the person in front of him, but the stronger position is that he should indicate it by nodding, because prostrating on the back of the person in front of you causes disturbance to that person, and perhaps you would feel disgusted to prostrate on a person’s back. As for indicating, a similar case has been established when a person is unable to prostrate; we tell those people to sit during the prostration and indicate the prostration by nodding. As for their remaining standing and intending to bow and prostrate while having the ability to do so, their prayer is not valid, and they must repeat it as the midday prayer. If they are from the people of Makkah, they repeat it as four units, and if they are not from the people of Makkah, they repeat it as two units.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : The scholars say that if there is crowding, a person must bow and prostrate, because those in front of him will bow and prostrate or indicate them, so he should do as they do. If he bows and lowers his back for the bowing, it is not obligatory for him to bow completely as he does when there is space. As for prostration, he should sit and then indicate the prostration by nodding. Some scholars said that one should prostrate on the back of the person in front of him, but the stronger position is that he should indicate it by nodding, because prostrating on the back of the person in front of you causes disturbance to that person, and perhaps you would feel disgusted to prostrate on a person’s back. As for indicating, a similar case has been established when a person is unable to prostrate; we tell those people to sit during the prostration and indicate the prostration by nodding. As for their remaining standing and intending to bow and prostrate while having the ability to do so, their prayer is not valid, and they must repeat it as the midday prayer. If they are from the people of Makkah, they repeat it as four units, and if they are not from the people of Makkah, they repeat it as two units.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.