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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 Islamic ruling on the aqiqa?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The 'aqīqah is a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah). Two sheep are to be slaughtered for a newborn boy, and one sheep for a newborn girl. This is established by numerous Prophetic traditions, among them:
The narration of Samurah ibn Jundub, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Every child is held in pledge for his 'aqīqah, which is slaughtered on his behalf on the seventh day, and he is named, and his head is shaved." — Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, who graded it as ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
And the narration of 'Ā'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us to slaughter one sheep as 'aqīqah for a girl, and two sheep for a boy." — Narrated by Aḥmad and Ibn Mājah.
The imperative in these narrations is understood to denote recommendation rather than obligation, based on the ḥadīth of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the 'aqīqah, whereupon he said: "Allah does not love 'uqūq" — as though he disliked the name itself — and then said: "Whoever has a child born to him and wishes to offer a sacrifice on their behalf, let them do so: two equivalent sheep for a boy, and one sheep for a girl." — Narrated by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd.
The legal inference drawn from this narration is that the Prophet ﷺ linked the slaughter to the wish and willingness of the individual, saying: "whoever wishes to offer a sacrifice... let them do so" — thereby indicating that the 'aqīqah is recommended (mustaḥabb) and not obligatory (wājib).
And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a person to give the Zakah (obligatory charity) to his daughter-in-law?

Yes, it is permissible for a person to give the Zakah to his daughter-in-law if she was poor, and none provided for particularly by whom are obliged to provide for her. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away, and what is the ruling on her wearing gold?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away is four months and ten days for one who is not pregnant. As for a pregnant woman, her waiting period lasts until she gives birth. It is obligatory for her to remain in the marital home, only leaving for a necessity. During this time, it is prohibited (Haram) to display any form of adornment on the body or clothing; this includes wearing kohl, gold, all types of perfume, and dyeing the hair. Likewise, it is prohibited to receive a direct marriage proposal or to marry during this period.
 
It was narrated by Umm 'Atiyyah that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'We were forbidden to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for a husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days. During this time, we were not to use kohl, nor wear perfume, nor wear dyed clothing except for garments made of 'Asb (coarsely dyed yarn). We were, however, granted a concession at the time of purification—when one of us bathed following her menses—to use a small amount of Kust (costus) or Azfar (fragrant substances). We were also forbidden from following funeral processions.' (Narrated by Al-Bukhari). And Allah the Exalted knows best."

What is the ruling on one who vows to fast a specific or non-specific year? Are the two Eids, the days of Tashreeq, Ramadan, and the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding included in them? And do these days break the consecutiveness if it was intended?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If someone makes a vow (Nadr) to fast a specific, designated year, this vow does not include the days of Eid, the days of Tashreeq (the three days following Eid al-Adha), Ramadan, or the days of menstruation (Hayd) and postnatal bleeding (Nifas). Furthermore, there is no requirement to make up (Qada) these specific days.
 
However, if someone vows to fast a year that is not specifically designated (i.e., any twelve-month period) and stipulates that the fasting must be consecutive, they are bound by that condition. They must not fast on the days of Eid, during Ramadan, or during menstruation, but they are required to make up these days afterward—with the exception of the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, which do not need to be made up.
 
It is stated in Hashiyat al-Bajuri ‘ala Sharh Ibn Qasim ({Vol.2/P.606): 'If one vows to fast a specific year, the Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, and days of menstruation or postnatal bleeding are not included. This is because Ramadan does not accept any fast other than its own, and the others do not accept fasting at all. Therefore, they do not enter into the vow, and no makeup is required for them because they are legally excluded—contrary to Al-Rafi’i regarding menstruation and postnatal bleeding.
 
If one vows to fast a non-designated year: if they stipulated consecutiveness (Tatuabu’) in their vow, they must fulfill it; otherwise, they are not bound to it. Consecutiveness is not broken by the days that do not enter into the specific year vow (Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, menstruation, and postnatal bleeding). However, one must make up the days missed—excluding the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding—immediately following the end of the year. As for the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, it is not made up, contrary to Ibn al-Rif’ah, who argued that it must be made up just like Ramadan.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

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