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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(137): "Ruling on Praying in the Mosque Sitting on a Chair"

Date Added : 27-10-2015

Resolution No.(137),(2/2010):

"Ruling on Praying in the Mosque Sitting on a Chair"

Date: 25/3/1431 AH, corresponding to 11/3/2010 AD.

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
During its first session held on the above given date, the Board reviewed the following question:
What is the ruling of Sharia on praying in the mosque while sitting on a chair and the harm that could result from that on other prayer performers?
After thorough studying and deliberating, the Board decided what follows:
Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam and Allah has commanded Muslims to guard it. He Says (what means): "Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before God in a devout (frame of mind)." {Al-Baqarah/238}. 
Guarding prayer means that a Muslim is obliged to observe all its pillars and conditions such as standing, bowing down (Ruku`) and prostrating (Sujood). Muslim scholars have agreed that standing, for the person who is able to do it, is a pillar in obligatory prayer, and not observing it renders his prayer invalid. Therefore, one who offers obligatory prayer sitting on a chair while he is able to stand, his prayer is considered invalid.
However, Allah The Almighty Has Imposed no difficulties on His slaves. He says (what means): "And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Apostle may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to God! He is your Protector - the Best to protect and the Best to help!" {Al-Hajj/78}. Allah Has Connected burdening His slaves with their capacity. He Says (what means): "on no soul doth God place a burden greater than it could bear" {Al-Baqrah/286}. In addition, Imran bin Husain: had piles, so I asked the Prophet (PBUH) about the prayer. he said: "Pray while standing and if you can't, pray while sitting and if you cannot do even that, then pray Lying on your side." {Bukhari}.
The above indicates that virtue is made from necessity, and that necessity is assessed according to its degree.
 Therefore, one who can pray standing isn`t permitted to pray sitting on a chair or the like, and the same rule applies to the rest of the pillars. However, if he has a sound reason to leave standing and sit on a chair, then this excuse doesn`t make it permissible for him not to offer Ruku` and Sujood in their proper manner while sitting. 
If he has a sound reason for not performing Ruku` and Sujood in a proper manner, then this excuse doesn`t make it permissible for him to leave standing and sit down on the chair. Rather, he is obliged to stand and sit on the chair while performing them.
What a praying person is able to do, he is obligated to do and what he is unable to do, he should do by nodding his head while sitting on the chair, but he should make the prostration lower than the bowing. This is based on the command of the Prophet (PBUH): "do what I command you to the best of your ability and capacity". {Bukhari}.
Al-Imam An-Nawai said: "Our fellow scholars said: not being able to stand isn`t a condition in inability, nor is experiencing the least hardship. What counts is evident hardship. So, if the praying person feared severe hardship, complications of an illness, or the like, or if he was afraid to drown when on board of a ship or become dizzy, then it is permissible for him to pray while sitting, and he doesn`t have to repeat the prayer." Al-Majmo`a (vol.4/pp.310). Kindly refer to the book {Nail Al-Ottar, vol.5/pp.202} for Al-Shokanii.
Some scholars said that inability means hardship that causes the praying person to lose humble submissiveness in his prayer. Imam Al-Haramain stated, "Inability that counts is when standing in prayer leads to hardship that causes the praying person to lose his humble submissiveness" {Al-Majmou`, vol.4/pp.310}.
However, if the praying person had no choice but to pray sitting on a chair, then he should make the rear legs of the chair aligned with the legs of the congregation. It is noteworthy that at the early stages of Islam, Muslims didn`t use to have chairs, so they should be used only when needed. Moreover, people praying sitting on chairs shouldn`t place them in the middle of the rows so as not to disturb the other prayer performers. It is better to place them at one end of the row, or at the back rows at the rear of the mosque. We prefer the rear end of the mosque in order to spare the praying persons the harm. We should note that these people who are praying sitting are following the Imam, even if there is a distance between them and the last row, because they are still in the mosque. Moreover, Muslim scholars have stated that their prayer is correct so long as they are in the mosque and following the Imam in every pillar of the prayer. And Allah Knows Best.

 

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Grand Mufti of Jordan, Dr. Abdulkareem al-Khasawneh

Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, 

                                                    Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

                                                    Dr. Yahia al-Botoosh/ Member

                                                    Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair al-Eesa/ Member

                                                    Judge Sari Atieh/ Member

                                                    Dr. Abdurahamn Ibbdah/ Member

                                                    Dr. Mohammad Okla/ Member

                                                    Dr. Abdunnasir Abulbasal/ Member

                                                    Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

                                                    Dr. Mohammad al-Gharaibeh/ Member

                                                    Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Executive Secretary of the Iftaa Board

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on someone who is uncertain whether he omitted one of the ab‘āḍ of the prayer, such as being uncertain whether he omitted the first tashahhud?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The ab‘āḍ include the middle tashahhud and the qunūt in Fajr prayer — for which sujūd as-sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) is prescribed if left out. Whoever is uncertain, during the prayer, whether he omitted one of these elements, should proceed on the assumption that he did not perform it, and should perform sujūd as-sahw accordingly.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 63): "If he is uncertain... whether he omitted a specific ab‘āḍ element, or whether he performed sujūd as-sahw, or whether he prayed three or four rak‘ahs — he proceeds on the assumption that he did not do it, and performs sujūd as-sahw."
The original principle (al-aṣl) for someone uncertain about [having performed] the first tashahhud is that he assumes he did not perform it. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on someone who curses the religion or commits an act of disbelief during the day in Ramadan?

Whoever apostatizes (leaves Islam) while fasting, their fast is invalid. Cursing the religion is an act of apostasy (may Allah protect us from it). Such a person must return to Islam by pronouncing the Shahadah (testimony of faith), seek Allah’s forgiveness, refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day, and make up for that day’s fast later.

Is an animal that results from crossbreeding between two types of livestock (an'ām) valid [for sacrifice]?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
An animal that results from crossbreeding between two types of livestock (an'ām) is valid [for sacrifice], with consideration given to the higher of the two required ages. Thus, in the case of an animal crossbred between sheep (ḍa'n) and goats (ma'z), only one that has reached two years of age is valid [for sacrifice]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

In the Sharia-compliant viewing  at a prospective bride (*al-naẓrah al-sharʿiyyah*), is it permissible for the man to see the woman without a veil (*ḥijāb*)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is sunnah for the suitor to see the woman he is seeking to marry within the limits the Sharīʿah permits, namely looking at the face and the hands (palms and backs), based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Look at her, for it is more likely to bring about harmony between you.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī.
The suitor may also ask one of the women to look at the woman he is seeking to marry. In that case, she is permitted to see of her what she is normally permitted to see, which is not limited to the face and hands, and she then describes these matters to the suitor. It is narrated on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Umm Sulaym to look at a girl, and said: “Smell her breath, and look at her heels.” Narrated by Aḥmad in his Musnad.
It is stated in Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.7/p.192): “For one who cannot easily look, or does not wish to look himself, it is sunnah to send someone who is permitted to look at her, to observe her and describe her to him, even regarding what he himself is not permitted to look at. He thereby gains through the sending what he would not gain through looking. Because of the added need for this, it is excepted from the prohibition of a woman describing another woman to a man.”
The permissibility of looking is conditional upon his resolve to marry her once he is able to, his predominant assumption that his proposal will be accepted, and his assumption that the woman is free of marriage and of a waiting period (ʿiddah). Otherwise, looking is forbidden.
Accordingly, it is not permissible for the suitor to look at anything other than the face and hands. He may ask one of his maḥram women, such as his mother or sister, to see the woman unveiled, and the Sharia-compliant viewing (of a prospective bride) must take place in the presence of one of the woman’s maḥrams. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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