Volume - V / CHAPTER - 2 / LESSON NO: 11
ABOUT THE PRAYER OF THE SICK
Q 1: In which condition can the sick offer prayer in sitting posture?
A. The sick who is unable to offer prayer standing i.e. standing in prayer will harm him or his disease will further aggravate or cause delay in recovery or he feels giddy or feels unbearable pain, can offer prayer sitting with Rukoo and Sujood.
Q 2: Can the sick, able to stand with any support, offer prayer sitting or not?
A. Slight pain is no Shar'ee excuse to avoid "Qiyaam" (standing) in prayer except for the one who is really unable to stand. Hence, it is obligatory upon one to stand with the support of a stick or servant or prop against wall if he can for a while even to the extent of saying "Allah-o-Akbar" and then sit down. It is generally observed now-a-days that people begin offering prayer sitting for slight fever or pain. Such people should learn a lesson from these Islamic instructions and repeat all those prayers which they have offered sitting despite ability to stand.
Q 3: What should one do who can not offer prayer even sitting?
A. The sick who can not sit himself but can with the help of other(s) must sit. If it is beyond his power to sustain his sitting then he should lean against a pillow or wall or any person and sit to his convenience to offer prayer and if he can not do even
this then he should offer prayer lying.
Q 4: How should the sick offer prayer in lying state?
A. The sick should either lie himself right side-ways or left side-ways with the face towards the Qiblah or lie himself flat facing the Qiblah without spreading out the legs (i.e. with the legs bent inside) as it is Makrooh to spread out the feet (legs) towards the Qiblah. Lying flat is better. In this condition he should raise his head with the support of a pillow or any other thing thereby to keep the face towards the Qiblah. Make gesture with the head for Rukoo and Sujood. The gesture for Sajdah i.e. bowing of the head should be lower than that of Rukoo. It is Makrooh Tahreemi to draw or lift a pillow etc. during prayer to put the head on it for Sajdah. Sajdah will not be in order if the head is not bowed lower than that for Rukoo in this exercise.
Q 5: What injunction is there for the sick who can not gesture even with the head?
A. The sick who is so serious that he can not gesture even with the head is free from the obligation of prayer (in such condition). No need to offer prayer with the gesture of eye or eye-brow or the heart. If this plight persists till six obligatory prayers' time then he is relieved of "Qada" (missed,omitted prayer) also and even of "Fidyah" (payment to offset sin or ransom), but in case he recovers or regains so little a strength that he can move his head then he will have to offer all the missed,omitted prayers even with the gesture of the head otherwise not.
Q 6: Will the prayers offered by gesture be repeated after recovery or not?
A. The prayers which were offered by gesture during sickness will not be repeated after recovery. Likewise, the one who lost his vocal power and offered his prayers like dumb will not repeat the prayers on regaining the faculty of speech.
Q 7: How to offer Qada of the prayers missed during sickness?
A. The one who missed prayers during sickness will have to offer Qada of them after recovery as a healthy man in normal way and the one who missed, omitted his prayers during health and wants to offer Qada of them during sickness, may offer them in whatever manner he can. It is not Waajib to offer Qada prayers like a healthy man in the given situation.