✦ Hadith Reference:
Narrated by Abu al-Zubair from Jabir رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ visited a sick person and saw him praying on a pillow. He took it and threw it away. Then the man took a wooden piece to pray on it, and the Prophet ﷺ took it and threw it away too, and said:
“Pray on the ground if you can, otherwise use gestures, and make your prostration lower than your bowing.”
(Reported by Al-Bayhaqi, Majma’ al-Zawa’id 2/149 – all narrators are trustworthy.)
In another narration:
“If you are able to pray on the ground, then do so; otherwise (use gestures).”
(Reported by Al-Bayhaqi – Sahih)
❖ Key Rulings and Benefits:
➊ It is not permissible to pray on a pillow or wooden platform.
➋ Prostration and Salah are most befitting when performed on the ground.
➌ If unable to stand, a person should sit and bow for Ruku’, and bow lower for Sujood.
➍ If the sickness is severe, and one is unable to get down from the bed or cot, then praying on the bed is permissible – with the condition that the bed, bedding, or cot is clean and oriented towards the Qiblah.
Source:
This content is taken from “Ḍiyā’ al-Islām fī Sharḥ al-Ilmām bi-Aḥādīth al-Aḥkām” by Shaykh Taqi al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ, translated by Maulana Mahmood Ahmad Ghaznavi.
