Fatwa by: Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaymeen (حفظه الله)
Question:
A woman has a broken back and is in a plaster cast, making it impossible for her to stand during prayer. She has been praying while sitting and making gestures for a month. Is her prayer valid?
Answer:
Since this woman is unable to stand and pray, it is permissible for her to pray while sitting. In obligatory prayers, standing is obligatory only for those who are able to do so. When a woman cannot stand due to her broken back, she is permitted to pray sitting.
If she can stand by leaning on something like a stick or wall, she should do so. However, since she is currently unable to stand, her prayers from this period are valid. The Prophet ﷺ told ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه):
“Pray standing. If you cannot, then sitting. If you cannot, then on your side.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhārī in Kitāb Taqṣīr al-Ṣalāh)
And Allah knows best.
Question:
A woman has a broken back and is in a plaster cast, making it impossible for her to stand during prayer. She has been praying while sitting and making gestures for a month. Is her prayer valid?
Answer:
Since this woman is unable to stand and pray, it is permissible for her to pray while sitting. In obligatory prayers, standing is obligatory only for those who are able to do so. When a woman cannot stand due to her broken back, she is permitted to pray sitting.
If she can stand by leaning on something like a stick or wall, she should do so. However, since she is currently unable to stand, her prayers from this period are valid. The Prophet ﷺ told ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه):
“Pray standing. If you cannot, then sitting. If you cannot, then on your side.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhārī in Kitāb Taqṣīr al-Ṣalāh)
And Allah knows best.
