Excerpt from Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri’s book Safbandi ke Ahkām wa Masā’il
One should avoid praying on a chair as much as possible. This is not an admirable or preferable practice. However, if one has no other option, then it is permissible.
But it has been seen that people use chairs even for minor discomfort, whereas in shops and homes they continue to sit without chairs normally. Twenty to twenty-five years ago, the same illnesses and excuses existed, yet such a condition in the mosques was not common. Nowadays, by mere imitation, it has become widespread in mosques.
The imams of the mosques should correct the people in this matter. جزاكم الله خيرا
If someone, due to necessity, prays while seated on a chair, the prayer is valid.
In such a case, the chair in the row serves the function of a pillar (sutūn). Just as forming a row between two pillars is permissible in a state of necessity, placing a chair within the row is likewise permissible.
◈ Ruling on Praying While Seated on a Chair
One should avoid praying on a chair as much as possible. This is not an admirable or preferable practice. However, if one has no other option, then it is permissible.
But it has been seen that people use chairs even for minor discomfort, whereas in shops and homes they continue to sit without chairs normally. Twenty to twenty-five years ago, the same illnesses and excuses existed, yet such a condition in the mosques was not common. Nowadays, by mere imitation, it has become widespread in mosques.
The imams of the mosques should correct the people in this matter. جزاكم الله خيرا
◈ In Case of Necessity
If someone, due to necessity, prays while seated on a chair, the prayer is valid.
In such a case, the chair in the row serves the function of a pillar (sutūn). Just as forming a row between two pillars is permissible in a state of necessity, placing a chair within the row is likewise permissible.
