What is the ruling on praying seated due to severe obesity, given that I experience hardship in performing the prayer — especially when rising from the ground after sujūd to perform the next rak‘ah?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Standing, when one is able to do so, is a pillar of the prayer. However, whoever would experience severe, intolerable hardship, or fears harm to himself or to a limb due to obesity, or finds that standing causes him to lose his khushū‘ (humble focus and concentration) in prayer, then there is no objection to his praying seated on a chair or on the ground, performing rukū‘ (bowing) and sujūd (prostration) through gesture — provided that the gesture for sujūd is made lower than that for rukū‘. Whoever is able, at any point, to properly perform any one of these pillars, is obligated to perform it in full; for omitting it is a concession that applies only in cases of genuine inability. The Prophet ﷺ said: "When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able." (Related by al-Bukhārī). As the scholars of fiqh have established: what remains possible is not waived on account of what is difficult.
The criterion for determining genuine inability, as chosen by Imam al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī (raḥimahullāh), is that the worshipper experiences hardship that causes him to lose his khushū‘.
As for voluntary (nafl) prayer, there is no objection to performing it while seated, even if one is able to stand. However, rukū‘ and sujūd must still be performed [in their proper physical form] by anyone who is able to do so. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
Is it permissible for an elderly person, a pregnant woman, or someone with a chronic illness to pay fidyah before Ramadan begins?
It is not permissible for an elderly person, a pregnant woman, or someone with a chronic illness to pay fidyah before Ramadan begins.
Additionally, it is not allowed to pay fidyah for more than one day in advance, because fidyah is a substitute for fasting, and fasting is not yet obligatory at that time.
However, it is permissible to pay fidyah for a single day in advance, by analogy with paying zakat up to one year in advance.
What are the pillars of fasting?
The pillars of fasting are intention and abstaining from all nullifiers of fasting from dawn to sunset.
Is it required for a discerning child to make the intention at night if they wish to fast?
If a discerning child wishes to fast during Ramadan, they must make the intention at night because intention is one of the pillars of fasting, even though fasting is not obligatory for them.
