#648: Ruling on the Salāt of the One who has no where to Pray at His Workplace
QUESTION:
“Assalam alaykum warahmatullah wa barakatuh sir. How’s the family. Plz help answer the following question:
Assalam Alaykum Waramatulllahi Wabarakatu. There’s no prayer room at my current place of work. I only pray Zuhr at work in my car. Please find out if I have to repeat the Zuhr prayer when I get home or it’s not necessary to repeat it. Jazakallahu Khayran
Plz note that this person lives in the UK.”
ANSWER:
Wa Alaykum Salām Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh
Alhamdulillāh!
We ask Allāh to grant us all Pious Offsprings and sound health, amīn.
Know, may Allāh be merciful upon us and you, that the Salāt and it’s observance within it’s stipulated time is one of the most important things a Muslim must observe without laxity and carelessness. And why not? When it is the connection between a Servant and his Lord. Do not you see that the relationship between a Servant and his Lord is measured with respect to his love and relationship with his Salāt, as the Ulamā have observed? And the proof of a Servant’s closeness to Allāh is in the speed with which he hurries to his Salāt and how much he loves to observe it. This is clear in the Hadīth in which the Rasūl -salallāhu alayhi wasallam – said:
إِنَّمَا حُبِّبَ إِلَيَّ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ثَلاثٌ الطِّيبُ ، وَالنِّسَاءُ ، وَجُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلاةِ
“Indeed three things in the Dunya were made beloving to me: perfume, women, and the delight of my eyes have been placed in Salāt.”
This was recorded by An-Nasa’ī in the Sunan from Anas bn Mālik – radiyallāhu ‘anhu – and is Hasan.
If that is realised, it becomes then apparent that whatever it takes to observe the Salāt with all of it’s full conditions and within it’s time is obligatory and when inability to fulfil it’s conditions within it’s stipulated time presents itself, one must leave the condition and observe the Salāt within it’s time. An example to this is the one who is not able to get access to clothes and he sees that he will not get those clothes to wear before the time period for observing the Salāt elapses. Such a person must pray naked in that situation as the Ulamā have agreed that the time period is the most important when it comes to Salāt.
This is mentioned by Ibn ‘Ābidīn in the Hāshiyah, Ad-Dasūqī in his Hāshiyah, An-Nawawī in Al-Majmū’, and Mansūr Al-Bahūtī in Kashshāfu Al-Qinā’
In the situation described, here are the steps you must follow:
1. You must observe the Salāt at it’s prescribed time with all of it’s conditions if you are capable of doing that. In that regard, you must seek a corner, even in your work place to observe the Salāt. Seek the permission of your employers and implore them to allow you your worship even if it’s the most obscure place in the building. The Ulamā are at an agreement that the Believer is free to observe the Salāt anywhere on Earth that is pure and free from Najāsah (filth), even though it’s not reserved for Salāt.
The Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – has said, as was recorded by both Imām Al-Bukhārī and Muslim:
وجعلت لي الأرض مسجداً وطهوراً ، فأيما رجل من أمتي أدركته الصلاة فليصل
“And the Earth has been made a Masjid and a Purifier for me. Any individual in my Ummah may therefore observe the Salāt wherever it’s time meets up with him”
We therefore do not think that you will lack where to do that, with or without the express permission of your employers in your place of work.
2. You must not be shy of your Dīn and be free to make it apparent that you are only worshipping in accordance to the Dīn.
3. You are not supposed to observe this prayer in your car where there is discomfort as long as you are able to observe it in a free space where you are comfortable and can bring all of the positions in the Salāt in accordance to the Sunnah.
It is imperative therefore that you quit observing it in your car if possible. Do that only when you are incapable of finding a place to observe it in the open.
4. There is no requirement in the Dīn that you should repeat your Salāt when you get home, after haven observed it, even in a difficult position. This was referred to by Az-Zarkashī in Al-Manthūr. This is because it has been observed in the best way possible. And Allāh has said:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
“So fear Allāh (and observe His injunctions) to the best of your ability”
And Allāh knows best
Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazakumullāhu Khayran
29th Dhul Hijjah 1439A.H
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