Source: Ahkam wa Masā’il – The Chapter of Mosques, Vol. 1, p. 103
My mother cannot perform Salah while standing due to pain. Can she pray while sitting on a chair and perform prostration on a table?
Alhamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd!
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) records in Bulūgh al-Marām the following narration:
«عَادَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَرِيضًا فَرَآهُ يُصَلِّي عَلَى وِسَادَةٍ، فَرَمَى بِهَا، وَقَالَ: صَلِّ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ، وَإِلَّا فَأَوْمِ إِيمَاءً، وَاجْعَلْ سُجُودَكَ أَخْفَضَ مِنْ رُكُوعِكَ»
"The Prophet ﷺ visited a sick person and saw him praying on a cushion. The Prophet ﷺ threw it aside and said: ‘Pray on the ground if you are able; otherwise, gesture with your head, and make your prostration lower than your bowing.’"
(al-Bayhaqī; authenticated as mawqūf by Abū Ḥātim – Bāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfir wa-l-Marīḍ)
In Subul al-Salām (vol. 1, p. 307), it is explained:
"This ḥadīth proves that if a sick person cannot prostrate on the ground, he should not use something to prostrate on. Rather, he should distinguish between his rukūʿ and sujūd, making his prostration lower than his bowing."
➊ If your mother cannot stand due to pain, she may pray sitting — whether on a chair or on the ground.
➋ If she cannot perform sujūd on the ground, she should not prostrate on a table or any raised object. Instead, she should perform sujūd by gesturing.
➌ In gesturing, she should ensure that her sujūd is done with a greater inclination than her rukūʿ, to differentiate between the two.
➍ Placing something (like a cushion or table) for sujūd has no basis in authentic aḥādīth; the Sharʿī method is to pray with gestures only if full sujūd is not possible.
Your mother may sit on a chair to perform Salah. If she cannot prostrate on the ground, she should not use a table for sujūd, but rather perform rukūʿ and sujūd by gesturing, ensuring that the prostration gesture is deeper than the bowing.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ The Question
My mother cannot perform Salah while standing due to pain. Can she pray while sitting on a chair and perform prostration on a table?
❖ The Answer
Alhamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd!
❖ Evidence from Ḥadīth
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) records in Bulūgh al-Marām the following narration:
«عَادَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَرِيضًا فَرَآهُ يُصَلِّي عَلَى وِسَادَةٍ، فَرَمَى بِهَا، وَقَالَ: صَلِّ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ، وَإِلَّا فَأَوْمِ إِيمَاءً، وَاجْعَلْ سُجُودَكَ أَخْفَضَ مِنْ رُكُوعِكَ»
"The Prophet ﷺ visited a sick person and saw him praying on a cushion. The Prophet ﷺ threw it aside and said: ‘Pray on the ground if you are able; otherwise, gesture with your head, and make your prostration lower than your bowing.’"
(al-Bayhaqī; authenticated as mawqūf by Abū Ḥātim – Bāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfir wa-l-Marīḍ)
In Subul al-Salām (vol. 1, p. 307), it is explained:
"This ḥadīth proves that if a sick person cannot prostrate on the ground, he should not use something to prostrate on. Rather, he should distinguish between his rukūʿ and sujūd, making his prostration lower than his bowing."
❖ Summary of the Ruling
➊ If your mother cannot stand due to pain, she may pray sitting — whether on a chair or on the ground.
➋ If she cannot perform sujūd on the ground, she should not prostrate on a table or any raised object. Instead, she should perform sujūd by gesturing.
➌ In gesturing, she should ensure that her sujūd is done with a greater inclination than her rukūʿ, to differentiate between the two.
➍ Placing something (like a cushion or table) for sujūd has no basis in authentic aḥādīth; the Sharʿī method is to pray with gestures only if full sujūd is not possible.
❖ Conclusion
Your mother may sit on a chair to perform Salah. If she cannot prostrate on the ground, she should not use a table for sujūd, but rather perform rukūʿ and sujūd by gesturing, ensuring that the prostration gesture is deeper than the bowing.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
