Legal provisions: Regarding worshipping in chairs

Attached is a recent study I conducted in Urdu on a Shariah issue that affects many Muslims and requires clarification.

This study draws on evidence from Hanafi legal texts to answer the following questions:

Under what circumstances can people be exempted from standing in prayer and prostration?

What are the specific descriptions of the kneeling, bowing, and standing postures of the healthy and the sick?

Under what circumstances must patients stand as much as possible, and under what circumstances can they be exempted from standing?

Can people pray while sitting in a chair, or does Islamic law prescribe some other method?

Does it matter if the prostate of a person sitting in a chair is placed on a table attached to the chair?

If possible, must the person sitting on the chair stand up and perform ruku or qiyam?

The key to this unique study of English readers is as follows:

1) If a sick or elderly person is able to sit on the ground and place a hard surface in front of him (such as a stool less than 9 inches/12 fingers high) for him to prostrate himself, he is not allowed to pray sitting on a chair. Such a person must also pray standing as much as possible, even if this can only be done during Takbir Tahrimah, and is only allowed to sit if he has serious difficulties standing or is worried that his condition will actually worsen or treatment will be delayed.

2) If a person is completely unable to sit on the floor, or is unable to sit on the floor or to prostrate on a hard surface (such as a table less than 9 inches high) (which is the least possible way to actually prostrate), then he can sit on a chair and perform the prayer with the hand gesture (ishaarah). Such a person does not need to stand at all from the beginning of the prayer, nor does he need to stand and perform ruku, even if he can do so.

3) A person who is allowed to pray in a chair does not need to prostrate himself on a hard surface, so a table is not needed for the prayer chair, because the prayer in the chair is performed purely by gestures, which means that he lowers his head and back as much as possible when prostrating himself, and a little less when doing Ruku.

4) A person who is praying in a chair cannot lead those who are praying standing up, because his prayer is performed through gestures, while their prayer is physical.

May this article bring great benefit to all readers through Tawfiq of Almighty Allah.

classify as: General