How should a severely frail person pray when unable to move or wash?
2026-10-13
T144 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete source question and answer
Complete original question and answer, 24/5–6. The concessions are tied to actual inability. Combining is expressly distinguished from shortening.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
سئل شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية رحمه الله عن رجل شيخ كبير وقد انحلت أعضاؤه، لا يستطيع أن يأكل أو يشرب، ولا يتحرك، ولا يستنجي بالماء، وإذا سجد ما يستطيع الرفع، فكيف يصلي؟
الجواب
أما الصلاة: فإنه يفعل ما يقدر عليه، ويصلي قاعدا إذا لم يستطع القيام، ويومئ برأسه إيماء بحسب حاله. وإن سجد على فخذه جاز، ويمسح بخرقة إذا تخلى، ويوضئه غيره إذا أمكن، ويجمع بين الصلاتين فيوضيه في آخر وقت الظهر، فيصلي الظهر والعصر بلا قصر، ثم إذا دخل وقت المغرب، صلى المغرب والعشاء، ويوضيه الفجر.
وإن لم يستطع الصلاة قاعدا، صلى على جنبه، ووجهه إلى القبلة، وإن لم يكن عنده من يوضئه ولا ييممه، صلى على حسب حاله، سواء كان على قفاه ورجلاه إلى القبلة، أو على جنبه ووجهه إلى القبلة.
وإن لم يكن عنده من يوجهه إلى القبلة صلى إلى أي جهة توجه، شرقا، أو غربا، والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Shaykh al-Islām Aḥmad ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about an elderly man whose limbs have become weak: he cannot eat or drink, move, or cleanse himself with water, and if he prostrates he cannot rise. How should he pray?
Answer
As for prayer, he does whatever he is able to do. He prays sitting if he cannot stand and gestures with his head as his condition permits. If he prostrates onto his thigh, that is permissible. He wipes himself with a cloth after relieving himself, and someone else performs wudu for him if possible. He combines the two prayers: the other person performs wudu for him towards the end of Ẓuhr's time, and he prays Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr without shortening them. Then, when Maghrib's time begins, he prays Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, and wudu is performed for him for Fajr.
If he cannot pray sitting, he prays on his side with his face towards the qiblah. If he has no one to perform wudu or tayammum for him, he prays as his condition allows, whether lying on his back with his feet towards the qiblah or on his side with his face towards it.
If he has no one to turn him towards the qiblah, he prays in whichever direction he faces, east or west. Allah, glorified and exalted, knows best.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 24/5–6
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic question and complete answer collated with the cited source text and its adjacent question boundaries. Arabic diacritics omitted, display marks removed and honorific glyphs expanded. Browsing headings and scope notes are editorial.