What is the ruling on facing the qiblah on a mount at the beginning of the prayer for a traveler?
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The Shaykh : From the left.
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you, what is the ruling on facing the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer when saying the takbir while on a mount?
The Shaykh : On a mount, and you are in the city?
The questioner : No, on a mount while he is traveling.
The Shaykh : A traveler, yes. It is permissible for a traveler 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 was facing, except that he did not pray the obligatory prayers on it.
And it is better, if he is not in doubt, to begin the takbir of ihram while facing the qiblah, and then continue in the direction of his travel. If he does not do so, there is no blame on him; the prayer is valid. The purpose is to facilitate voluntary prayer for the one obligated to worship so that he can perform it without hardship. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not permissible on a mount except out of dire necessity. Dire necessity is, for example, if there is rain or a violent storm such that a person cannot get down to the ground and 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 instance, where he is able to face the qiblah, stand, bow, prostrate, and sit. In that case, there is nothing wrong with him praying, even without dire necessity. So there is a difference between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer. Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you, what is the ruling on facing the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer when saying the takbir while on a mount?
The Shaykh : On a mount, and you are in the city?
The questioner : No, on a mount while he is traveling.
The Shaykh : A traveler, yes. It is permissible for a traveler 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 was facing, except that he did not pray the obligatory prayers on it.
And it is better, if he is not in doubt, to begin the takbir of ihram while facing the qiblah, and then continue in the direction of his travel. If he does not do so, there is no blame on him; the prayer is valid. The purpose is to facilitate voluntary prayer for the one obligated to worship so that he can perform it without hardship. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not permissible on a mount except out of dire necessity. Dire necessity is, for example, if there is rain or a violent storm such that a person cannot get down to the ground and 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 instance, where he is able to face the qiblah, stand, bow, prostrate, and sit. In that case, there is nothing wrong with him praying, even without dire necessity. So there is a difference between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer. Yes.