Can Obligatory Prayers Be Performed on a Mount?
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question
Can obligatory (fard) prayers be performed on a mount?
❖ Answer
Obligatory (fard) prayers must be performed on the ground. Performing them on a mount is not permissible. However, nafl (supererogatory) and sunan prayers can be performed on a mount.
❀ Sayyiduna ʿAmir ibn Rabiʿah (RA) narrated:
رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وهو على الراحلة، يسبح...
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performing nafl prayers on his mount, gesturing with his head, facing whichever direction it turned. However, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not perform the obligatory prayer on a mount.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 1097)
❀ Sayyiduna ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar (RA) narrated:
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يسبح على الراحلة...
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would perform nafl prayers on his mount, facing whichever direction it turned, and he would also perform Witr on it, but he would not perform the obligatory prayer on it.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 1098; Sahih Muslim: 700/39)
❀ Imam Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi (رحمه الله, 294H) said:
قد أجمعت الأمة على أن الصلاة المفروضة لا يجوز أن تصلى على الراحلة.
“The Ummah has unanimously agreed that obligatory prayer cannot be performed on a mount.”
(Mukhtasar Qiyam al-Layl, p. 298)
