How Do I Pray if I Cannot Stand?
Pray sitting; if you cannot sit, lying on your side; if you cannot, then by indication. The obligation does not lift, only the form changes.
Answers are more useful when you can see the working, so the evidence is set out below.
The evidence
‘Imran ibn Husayn was told: pray standing, and if you cannot then sitting, and if you cannot then on your side (Sahih al-Bukhari 1117).
Some later scholars added praying by indication with the eyes or the heart where no bodily movement is possible.
One who prays sitting due to genuine inability receives the full reward of praying standing.
In practice
- Make the sujud lower than the ruku‘ by indication when seated.
- A chair at the back of the row is permitted; scholars differ on aligning the feet or the seat.
- Do not abandon the prayer because you cannot perform it in the usual form.
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Is It Obligatory to Pray in Congregation at the Masjid?
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What Is the Correct Way to Perform the Funeral Prayer?
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