The ruling on performing the obligatory prayer while seated in an airplane
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Question:
I was assigned a task and the time for prayer arrived while I was inside the airplane, so I prayed while seated on the airplane seat, nodding my head, and I did not know which direction I was facing. I ask you to inform me about the validity of my prayer, and if it is not valid, am I allowed to delay it until I get off the airplane?
Answer:
It is obligatory for a Muslim, if he is in an airplane or in the desert, to make every effort to determine the direction of the qiblah by asking people of expertise or by looking at the signs of the qiblah, so that he prays toward the qiblah with certainty. If he is unable to know this, he should make every effort to ascertain the direction of the qiblah and pray toward it, and that suffices for him, even if it turns out later that he was mistaken about the qiblah; because he made every effort and feared Allah as much as he was able. It is not permissible for him to perform the obligatory prayer in an airplane or in the desert without making an effort. If he does so, he must repeat the prayer, because he did not fear Allah as much as he was able and did not make an effort.
As for the questioner praying while seated, there is no blame on him if he was unable to pray standing, like a person praying on a ship or a steamer if he is unable to stand. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surat al-Taghabun: 16]. And if he delays the prayer until he gets off, there is nothing wrong with that if the time is ample. And all of this is regarding the obligatory prayer.
As for the voluntary prayer, it is not obligatory to face the qiblah when one is in an airplane, a car, or on a mount, because it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to pray the voluntary prayer while on his camel, facing the direction of his travel. However, it is recommended for him to face the qiblah when entering the state of ihram, then complete his prayer facing the direction of his travel; because it is established from the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) what indicates this. And success is from Allah.
I was assigned a task and the time for prayer arrived while I was inside the airplane, so I prayed while seated on the airplane seat, nodding my head, and I did not know which direction I was facing. I ask you to inform me about the validity of my prayer, and if it is not valid, am I allowed to delay it until I get off the airplane?
Answer:
It is obligatory for a Muslim, if he is in an airplane or in the desert, to make every effort to determine the direction of the qiblah by asking people of expertise or by looking at the signs of the qiblah, so that he prays toward the qiblah with certainty. If he is unable to know this, he should make every effort to ascertain the direction of the qiblah and pray toward it, and that suffices for him, even if it turns out later that he was mistaken about the qiblah; because he made every effort and feared Allah as much as he was able. It is not permissible for him to perform the obligatory prayer in an airplane or in the desert without making an effort. If he does so, he must repeat the prayer, because he did not fear Allah as much as he was able and did not make an effort.
As for the questioner praying while seated, there is no blame on him if he was unable to pray standing, like a person praying on a ship or a steamer if he is unable to stand. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAs for the voluntary prayer, it is not obligatory to face the qiblah when one is in an airplane, a car, or on a mount, because it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to pray the voluntary prayer while on his camel, facing the direction of his travel. However, it is recommended for him to face the qiblah when entering the state of ihram, then complete his prayer facing the direction of his travel; because it is established from the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) what indicates this. And success is from Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.