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Can a Disabled Lead People in Prayer?

11 July, 2018
Q As-salamu `alaykum. Can a disabled man who has no legs and unable to perform qiyam, ruku` or sujud lead prayer for worshipers who are normal?

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

It is permissible  for a  physically disabled person to lead people in prayers providing that they can follow him correctly without confusion.

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Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

There is nothing wrong if a physically disabled person leads people in prayers as long as the followers can follow him without confusion. We are not allowed to discriminate between people because of the physical challenges they are facing.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) chose `Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum (who was a blind) to raise the adhan as well as to lead people in his absence. We also read in the sources that Ibn Umm Maktum had to be notified of the arrival of time for he was blind.

It is, therefore, perfectly fine for a person without legs to lead people as long as they can make out the different postures he is making in salah.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.