A sick woman with obsessive thoughts and fantasies: Is it permissible for her to perform dry ablution and combine two prayers?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you for your love of us in Allah. There is a woman who was among the best of women in religion and character, having learned for the sake of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). After she reached fifty, she was afflicted with severe fear, where she imagines things that do not happen in reality. She became afraid of performing ablution and does not perform it; instead, she rubs herself with dust. Is that valid for her? Sometimes she delays every prayer until after its time. What is your opinion regarding the condition of this woman?
The Shaykh : First: May Allah love you as you love us in Him, and make us and you among the loved ones of Allah.
This woman is undoubtedly afflicted with an illness, and it is not permissible for her to perform dry ablution while she is able to use water. It is obligatory for her to be patient and persevere, and to restrain herself until she prays with water, because what afflicts her during ablution with water may be from Satan to prevent her from doing what is obligatory. Likewise, regarding her leaving the obligatory prayer, she must pray according to her condition, whether standing, sitting, or lying down, and she must not delay it beyond its time, unless the prayer is one that can be combined with the one following it, and that is easier for her, in which case there is no harm in combining them. This is not a physical inability. We say: "Fear Allah as much as you are able." This is a mental inability and fantasies. If she resolves to do so, seeks refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, and breaks these fantasies, she will benefit.
The Shaykh : First: May Allah love you as you love us in Him, and make us and you among the loved ones of Allah.
This woman is undoubtedly afflicted with an illness, and it is not permissible for her to perform dry ablution while she is able to use water. It is obligatory for her to be patient and persevere, and to restrain herself until she prays with water, because what afflicts her during ablution with water may be from Satan to prevent her from doing what is obligatory. Likewise, regarding her leaving the obligatory prayer, she must pray according to her condition, whether standing, sitting, or lying down, and she must not delay it beyond its time, unless the prayer is one that can be combined with the one following it, and that is easier for her, in which case there is no harm in combining them. This is not a physical inability. We say: "Fear Allah as much as you are able." This is a mental inability and fantasies. If she resolves to do so, seeks refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, and breaks these fantasies, she will benefit.