Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah radiyallahu anhu reported that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “A group of Angels stay with you by night and another group of Angels by day. They meet together at the time of afternoon prayer and dawn prayer, then those who stayed with you ascend to the heavens. Allah asks them, although He knows better than them: How did you leave My servants? The Angels say: We left them while they were praying and we came to them while they were praying.” [Sahih Bukhari]
Question:
When is a person allowed to perform Salaah on a chair? If a person performs Salaah on a chair, should he sit for the entire duration of the Salaah even if he is able to stand or should he stand when he can and sit when he cannot?
(Question published as received)
Answer:
A person is allowed to perform Salaah seated on a chair when they have a physical condition that prevents them from performing Sajdah on the ground.
A person who finds difficulty in standing and performing Salaah is not automatically permitted to sit on a chair for Salaah. For this person, the next option is to perform Salaah sitting on the ground and performing Sajdah on the ground. In this case, the person will first opt to sit in the Tashahhud position. If this is difficult, the person may sit in any comfortable position, even cross-legged. The reason for this is that Sajdah is a Fardh (obligatory act) in Salaah and its non-performance despite the ability to do so will render the Salaah invalid.
It is thus surprising that while one finds a substantial number of individuals performing Salaah while sitting on chairs, one hardly finds anyone performing Salaah while sitting on the floor. This is indicative that many individuals have not understood the proper ruling regarding performing their Salaah sitting and are thus performing their Salaah in an invalid manner.
If a person is unable to perform Sajdah on the ground, then they will be permitted to sit on a chair and perform Salaah. In this situation, it is preferred to perform the entire Salaah sitting even if the person can stand at times. Nonetheless, if such a person chooses to stand in the “Standing” position and sits for the other positions, this will also be valid. The hands will be tied in the “Standing” position of Salaah and placed on the thighs in other positions. Ruku will be made by bending forward and Sajdah will be made by bending forward a bit more. (Shaami 2/97)
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Muhammed Hamza Farooqui
Mufti Taahir Hansa
Fatwa Department
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)
(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.)