{"_id":"668da0760b76658b4c2337e6","title":"Is it permissible to pray sitting in one's car while travelling?","question":"My family has been having a bit of trouble regarding Salah when traveling. While traveling, I typically try to find a local Masjid on the way to our destination to pray Qasr Salah, and I try to keep it under a 20-minute detour. However, one of my family members insists on not praying Salah in this way, instead preferring to pray in the car. It upsets me, but I don't wish to be upset with them. They are just following advice they've received before, I'm sure, and are making their best attempt to make the religion easy, which is an important tenet of our faith. I try to avoid traveling as much as possible with them because of this and the tensions it causes. Usually, when I ask one of my parents, they understand and take us to a Masjid, but it causes them to complain for the rest of the trip. They cite the Hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his wives would pray on their camels. I try to explain that this only holds for Sunnah Salah. Could you explain in a bit more detail (beyond just the previous answer they've read) why that Hadith can't be applied here, and why it's important to follow Sunni scholarly rulings on this? Sorry to ask so explicitly.","answer":"May Allah reward you immensely for your kind words. Indeed, the religion is easy because Allah has made it so for us, not because we make it easy for ourselves. People often complicate the religion due to ignorance of its teachings or because they do not learn from qualified scholars who transmit Islamic knowledge without external corruption. Instead, they may follow unqualified scholars who have not been properly trained and educated within the tradition, leading to personal interpretations that deviate from the preserved and transmitted knowledge.\n\nTo truly ease the practice of religion for ourselves, we must seek knowledge from qualified scholars who have inherited the scholarly tradition, rather than inventing our own interpretations. This does not mean that we decide how to make the religion easy; Allah has already done this for us. There is nothing left for us to modify to make our religion easy, as it is inherently easy. Allah ﷻ has stated this in the Quran:\n\n\"Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.\" [2:185]\n\"And He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty.\" [22:78]\n\nThe Prophet ﷺ has reiterated this in many hadiths:\n\n\"The religion (of Islam) is easy, and whoever makes the religion a rigor, it will overpower him.\" [Sahih al-Bukhari 39]\n\"Make things easy and do not make things difficult. Give glad tidings and do not repel people.\" [Sahih al-Bukhari 69]\n\nRegarding the performance of obligatory prayers while seated in a car, it is not permissible according to our scholarly tradition based on the following authentic narrations. These narrations show that the ease granted in this matter is to allow the performance of recommended prayers while riding. Extending this ruling to obligatory prayers because it seems easier would contradict the prophetic practice mentioned in the hadiths.\n\nوَقَالَ اللَّيْثُ حَدَّثَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَ قَالَ سَالِمٌ كَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يُصَلِّي عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَهْوَ مُسَافِرٌ، مَا يُبَالِي حَيْثُ مَا كَانَ وَجْهُهُ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُسَبِّحُ عَلَى الرَّاحِلَةِ قِبَلَ أَىِّ وَجْهٍ تَوَجَّهَ، وَيُوتِرُ عَلَيْهَا، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ لاَ يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهَا الْمَكْتُوبَةَ‏.‏\n\nNarrated Salim: At night, `Abdullah bin `Umar used to offer the prayer on the back of his animal during a journey and did not care about the direction he faced. Ibn `Umar said, \"Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to offer the optional prayer on the back of his mount facing any direction and also used to pray the witr on it but never offered the compulsory prayer on it.\" [Sahih al-Bukhari 1098]\n\nحَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُصَلِّي عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ حَيْثُ تَوَجَّهَتْ، فَإِذَا أَرَادَ الْفَرِيضَةَ نَزَلَ فَاسْتَقْبَلَ الْقِبْلَةَ‏.‏\n\nNarrated Jabir: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to pray (optional, non-obligatory prayer) while riding on his mount (Rahila) wherever it turned, and whenever he wanted to pray the compulsory prayer, he dismounted and prayed facing the Qibla. (Sahih al-Bukhari 400)\n\n\nوَحَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُسَبِّحُ عَلَى الرَّاحِلَةِ قِبَلَ أَىِّ وَجْهٍ تَوَجَّهَ وَيُوتِرُ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ لاَ يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهَا الْمَكْتُوبَةَ ‏.‏\n\nSalim b. 'Abdullah reported on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe Nafl (supererogatory) prayer on his ride no matter in what direction it turned its face, and he observed Witr too on it, but did not observe obligatory prayer on it. (Sahih Muslim 700i)\n\nRegarding your family situation, avoid arguing or letting this become a point of contention. Stick to what you are convinced is the correct position and do your best to convince others. If you are unable to change their minds, agree to disagree and allow each person to practice according to their conviction without imposing your opinions on one another.\n\nMay Allah open our hearts and minds.","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fef0b76658b4c232985","tag":"Salah: Validity","count":156},{"_id":"668d9fea0b76658b4c2328e8","tag":"Salah: Traveling","count":65},{"_id":"668d9ffd0b76658b4c232b1f","tag":"Sitting During Salah","count":7}],"createdOn":"2024-07-09T20:41:26.949Z"}