The Book of Prayer
Prayer of The Sick

بَابُ صَلاَةِ الْمَرِيْضِ

Prayer of The Sick

[Positions of Prayer when One is Sick]

About the sick: If standing increases his sickness, he should pray sitting; if he cannot, then on his side, because the Messenger of Allah (SA) said to ‘Imrân ibn Ḥuṣayn (RA), “Pray standing, and if you cannot, then sitting, and if you cannot, then on your side.”352 If this is still hard, he may pray on his back, and if he cannot bow or prostrate, he should use gestures (making the movements as much as possible). 353

وَالْمَرِيْضُ إِذَا كَانَ الْقِيَامُ يَزِيْدُ فِيْ مَرَضِهِ، صَلَّى جَالِسًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُطِقْ، فَعَلَى جَنْبِهِ؛ لِقَوْلِ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ لِعِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ: "صَلِّ قَائِمًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ، فَقَاعِدًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ، فَعَلَى جَنْبٍ." فَإِنْ شَقَّ عَلَيْهِ، فَعَلَى ظَهْرِهِ، وَإِنْ عَجَزَ عَنِ الرُّكُوْعِ وَالسُّجُوْدِ، أَوْمَأَ بِهِمَا

[Make Up After Coma]

He must make up for the prayers missed during his coma. 354

وَعَلَيْهِ قَضَاءُ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنَ الصَّلَوَاتِ فِيْ إِغْمَائِهِ


352 (B)


353 For Allah (ST) says:

{On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear…} (al-Baqarah 2: 286)

{لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا}


And the Prophet (SA) said:

“When I command you to do something, do of it as much as you can, and if I make something prohibited for you, leave it.” (Ag – from Abu Hurayrah)

فإذا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ فَأْتُوا منه ما اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وإذا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عن شَيْءٍ فَدَعُوهُ


354 Missed Prayers for One Who Recovers from a Coma (A): They must make up all the prayers, regardless of the duration of the coma.

[Combining the Prayers due to Sickness]]

If it is hard for him to pray each prayer during its prescribed time, it is permissible to combine the dhuhr with the ‘aṣr prayer and the maghrib with the ‘ishâ’ prayer, during the time of either one [the earlier or the latter]. 355

وَإِنْ شَقَّ عَلَيْهِ فِعْلُ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ فِيْ وَقْتِهَا، فَلَهُ الْجَمْعُ بَيْنَ الظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ، وَبَيْنَ الْعِشَاءَيْنِ فِيْ وَقْتِ إِحْدَاهُمَا


(a) + (-M, -S): They are not required to make up any prayers unless they recover from the coma before the time of the prayer is over. (This does not apply to someone who went into a coma upon abuse of haram substances or intoxication.) (-H): If the coma lasted more than five prayers, they do not need to make up the prayers. They all cited different reports in Muṣannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah from the Companions about missed prayers during comas, but none of those comas lasted more than a day. Ad-Dâraquṭni reported from the Prophet (SA) the exemption of one in a coma, but a narrator in the chain was considered weak by Imam Aḥmad. None of the reports were definitive. They used rational evidence as well. The majority likened the coma to insanity, and (A) likened it to sleep. This position of (a) + (-M, -S) is strong, for it is consistent with the fiqh principles. The one in a coma has effectively lost their intellect. Besides, nowadays people may be in a coma for months and survive only because of life support. The position of (-H) is also strong because people normally do not sleep more than a day, so a coma longer than that cannot be treated like sleep.


355 Ḥamnah bint Jaḥsh (RAH) had excessive non-menstrual vaginal bleeding, and the Messenger of Allah (SA) allowed her to combine the prayers. (A. al-Albâni:R) Combining for the sick is the position of (A) + (+M, +s). Imam Ibn Taymiyah said in Majmoo‘ al-Fatâwâ: The reason for shortening the prayers is travel only, so it is not otherwise permitted. As for combining them for an excuse or a need, he may do that while traveling, whether it is short or long travel, and he may combine them for rain, or sickness, or other reasons. The objective of this concession is sparing the Ummah from hardship.

If he combines these during the time of the earlier prayer, he should make the intention (to combine them) prior to doing it [praying the first of the two combined prayers]. 356 The excuse for combining the two must continue until he starts praying the second. He should not separate them except for the time to make wuḍoo’. 357

ََ .فَإِنْ جَمَعَ فِيْ وَقْتِ الأُوْلَى، اشْتُرِطَ نِيَّةُ الْجَمْعِ عِنْدَ فِعْلِهَا وَاسْتِمْرَارُ الْعُذْرِ حَتَّى يَشْرَعَ فِيْ الثَّانِيَةِ مِنْهُمَا وَأَنْ لاَ يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَهُمَا، إِلاَّ بِقَدْرِ الْوُضُوْءِ

If he defers [praying the two prayers until the time of the second prayer], the excuse of combining must last until the time of the second has come in. He must make his intention (to combine them) during the time of the first prayer, before it is too late to pray it on time.

وَإِنْ أَخَّرَ، اعْتُبِرَ اسْتِمْرَارُ الْعُذْرِ إِلَى دُخُوْلِ وَقْتِ الثَّانِيَةِ مِنْهُمَا، وَأَنْ يَنْوِيَ الْجَمْعَ فِيْ وَقْتِ الأُوْلَى، قَبْلَ أَنْ يَضِيْقَ عَنْ فِعْلِهَا

[Other Times When Combining Prayers Is Permissible]358


356 That is the position of the majority. (-s, -t): It is not a condition. Their position is strong since there is no proof to the contrary. They also noted that on the day of ‘Arafah, the Prophet (SA) did not tell the Companions before they started the dhuhr prayer that he was going to combine it with the ‘aṣr prayer. It is safer to follow the authorized view of the four madh-habs, but one may take the concession in the views of other mujtahids under certain conditions, including the presence of a need for it. If someone forgets to make the intention for combining, and he prays dhuhr, and now he is about to have surgery or another medical procedure, he may pray ‘aṣr in the time of dhuhr, making a belated intention to combine. See the appendix on the agreement of the four madh-habs.


357 That is the position of the majority. (-s, -t): It is not a condition. Their position is strong since there is no proof to the contrary. See above.


358 Different Causes that Justify Combining the Prayers

(A) + (+M, +S): Fear is also a reason for combining the prayers, so there are four causes: 1) Traveling (A) + (+M, +S). 2) Sickness (A) + (+M, +s). 3) Fear for life, honor, or property. (A) + (+M, +S). 4) Rain (A) + (+M, +S) and according to (A), severe wind and cold. Muddy streets take the same ruling, even without rain, according to (A) + (+M). Does it apply to people praying at the mosque only? (a) + (-M, -S): Yes (A): No According to (A/SM), combining the prayers may also be permissible in the following cases: -          Women with prolonged bleeding, people with urinary incontinence, and the like. -          Those unable to make ritual purification with water or tayammum for every prayer. -          Those unable to identify the direction of qibla for every prayer, such as a blind person or a prisoner. -          Those who fear harm to their livelihood if they leave for prayer, such as bakers fearing that their dough may be spoiled or their bread may be burnt. According to (Ibn Seereen, Rabee‘ah, Ashhab, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Qaffâl, Z, and t), it is permissible to combine the prayers if praying on time will cause hardship, given that it does not become a habit. Their proof is a report that the Messenger of Allah (SA) combined prayers in Madinah without fear or rain. “He did not want to place his Ummah in hardship,” Ibn ‘Abbâs (rahuma) explained. (Ag – from Ibn ‘Abbâs) The majority argued that this combining was not a true one, and that the Messenger of Allah (SA) only deferred the dhuhr until right before ‘aṣr, for Allah (ST) says:

{…For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.} (an-Nisâ’ 4: 103)

{إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا}

Combining is permissible for the traveler for whom shortening the prayers is permissible.

وَيَجُوْزُ الْجَمْعُ لِلْمُسَافِرِ الَّذِيْ لَهُ الْقَصْرُ

It is permissible to combine the maghrib prayer with ‘ishâ’ prayer in the case of rain. 359

وَيَجُوْزُ الْجَمْعُ فِي الْمَطَرِ بَيْنَ الْعِشَاءَيْنِ خَاصَّةً

The position of the minority is strong because Ibn ‘Abbâs (RAHUMA) clearly stated that the Prophet (SA) did it so that his Ummah would not be placed in hardship. Had it not been a true combining, he would not have needed to justify it, and the narrator would have explained what was meant by ‘combining’ so that people would not think it was true combining. The scholars who took this position indicated that it would be for a legitimate need and on a random basis. ¹ This may apply to a physician in the middle of a procedure, a student in the middle of an important lecture or exam, a person who is caught in traffic, or the like. Of note here is that (-H) allows combining during Hajj only


359 That is the position of (A) + (+M). (-S): Allowed combining dhuhr and ‘aṣr due to rain.