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How to Pray Sitting: A Step-by-Step Guide

17 November, 2024
Q There is a view that says that if you can’t prostrate when praying, you should still bow and pray standing and do whatever you can do. Another view says that if you cannot prostrate, you can pray the whole prayer sitting. Which view is more correct?

Answer

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:

In the case of obligatory prayers, those who can stand should start the prayer while standing and then offer Ruku in the usual way, and then sit down and make Sujud by bowing as low as possible; one should do the same in all of the remaining Rak’ahs.


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

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If you cannot prostrate, it does not mean you can skip standing and Ruku; both are integrals of prayer for those who can do so–while offering obligatory prayers.

So, in the case of obligatory prayers, those who can stand should start the prayer while standing and then offer Ruku in the usual way, and then sit down and make Sujud by bowing as low as possible; one should do the same in all of the remaining Rak’ahs.

On the other hand, if one is praying a sunnah prayer, one may pray while sitting.

In conclusion, it is wrong to say there are two views on this as it is a matter of consensus.

Almighty Allah knows best.

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada