How does a person who cannot stand or perform prostration pray?

The obligation of prayer is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus. In the Qur’an, it is stated, “Prayer is obligatory for the believers at prescribed times.” (an-Nisâ, 4/103) and “Establish prayer.” (al-Baqara, 2/43). The Prophet (peace be upon him) described prayer as “the pillar of religion” (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, 5/231 [22069]; Tirmidhi, Iman, 8 [2616]), called it “the best deed” (Ibn Majah, Taharah, 4 [277]), and stated that prayer would be the first deed to be accounted for on the Day of Judgment. (Nasa’i, Salat, 9 [465]) The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, “Whoever deliberately abandons prayer will be deprived of the protection of Allah and His Messenger.” (Ahmad b. Hanbal, al-Musnad, 6/421 [27404]; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 23 [4034]). Therefore, prayer should not be abandoned and must be performed, even if only by gesture (ima).

The pillars of the prayer are specified in the Book and the Sunnah, and the manner of performing it was demonstrated both verbally and practically by the Prophet (peace be upon him). These pillars are the opening takbir, standing (qiyam), recitation (qira’ah), bowing (ruku’), prostration (sujud), and the final sitting (qa’da-yi akhirah). The Qur’an states, “Stand before Allah in devotion.” (al-Baqara, 2/238), and “O you who believe! Bow, prostrate, worship your Lord, and do good so that you may succeed.” (al-Hajj, 22/77). The Prophet (peace be upon him), after teaching a companion how to pray and showing him how to perform the tashahhud, said, “When you have done this, your prayer is complete.” (Tirmidhi, Salat, 226 [302])

If any of the pillars of prayer are omitted without a valid excuse, the prayer is not valid. However, in our religion, responsibilities are determined according to a person’s ability (al-Baqara, 2/286), and concessions are made for situations that exceed one’s capacity or cause undue hardship (al-Baqara, 2/185). Indeed, when a sick companion asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) how to pray, he said, “Pray standing. If you are unable, then pray sitting. If you are unable to do even that, then pray lying on your side.” (Bukhari, Taqsir as-Salat, 19 [1117]). Illnesses that prevent the fulfillment of any of the pillars of prayer are also considered grounds for concession.

Accordingly:

1. A person who is unable to pray standing should pray sitting. If he can perform prostration, he should bow slightly for ruku’ and perform sujud in its original form by placing his forehead and nose on the ground. If he cannot perform prostration, he should perform both ruku’ and sujud by gesture (ima). When performing ruku’ and sujud by gesture, the movement for sujud should be lower than that for ruku’.

2. A person who can stand but cannot prostrate may pray by gesture while sitting on the ground or on a chair, or perform standing and bowing normally and fulfill the prostrations by gesture.

3. If a person can perform the first rak’ah with standing, bowing, and prostration, but cannot stand in the subsequent rak’ahs, he should complete the rest of the prayer sitting, bowing slightly for ruku’ and performing sujud in its original form.

4. A person who can stand and bow but cannot sit on the ground may begin the prayer standing, and after bowing, perform prostration by gesture while sitting on a chair or similar, or perform the entire prayer by gesture while sitting on a chair.

A person should be sincere and wholehearted in worship and strive to fulfill the requirements of worship with care, including its physical aspects. Minor physical discomforts that do not prevent performing the prayer in its original form should not be considered a valid excuse in this regard.

On the other hand, praying while sitting or on a chair does not prevent one from joining the congregation in the mosque. Those who pray in this manner should join the rows. They should keep their chairs in line with the row and not obstruct the prostration of those praying behind them. Furthermore, it is not appropriate to install fixed rows of seats in mosques, as this would hinder joining the rows and is not in keeping with mosque etiquette and tradition.

Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu