Waleed Basyouni – How to Perform Salah on an Airplane Prayer Timing, Direction & Guidelines
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AI: Transcript ©
As-Salaam-Alaikum Shaykh.
Wa-Alaikum As-Salaam.
You've been traveling a lot, right?
Yes.
So, this is a very relevant question to
people who travel a lot, especially if they
travel overseas.
He's asking, how could he pray on the
airplane?
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.
That's a very good question, and it has
many aspects.
So, traveling on an airplane, how can I
pray?
Let's start with the timing of prayer.
So, if you travel, the time of the
prayer has nothing to do with the destination
or where you start your flight from.
So, let's say you leave from Houston going
to, let's say, Istanbul.
Dhuhr does not enter based on the Dhuhr
time in Houston or Dhuhr time in Istanbul.
It's based on where you're at in the
journey.
At that time.
At that time.
Right.
So, if you left Houston 11 o'clock,
for example, you know, it's not Dhuhr time
in Houston, and most likely it's not Dhuhr
time in Istanbul as well.
So, what I do in this case, you
wait until, you know, it is for sure,
let's say, you are now in DC area
or the East Coast, and it's Dhuhr there,
and even there is some app will calculate
where you're at exactly, and will give you
the time of the salah in the airplane
where you are traveling.
Some Muslim airlines will tell you, like Turkish
Airlines, for example, some other airlines, I saw
Turkish Airlines, they tell you this is Dhuhr
time entered right now, or Asr.
So, they will let you know.
But let's say you don't, you couldn't figure
that out.
You wait until you see it's about Asr,
and you pray Dhuhr and Asr together.
When it became dark, you pray Maghrib and
Isha together.
Right.
When it is basically, you see the light
coming up, that's Fajr, you pray Fajr.
You might pray the five daily prayers in
less than 24 hours.
That's fine.
And it becomes shorter or longer.
Right.
That's fine also.
Going east, it will.
It will.
Coming west, you might have the whole entire
day only for two salah.
Right.
You know, that's fine as well.
So, that's number one.
Number two, when it comes to prayer in
the airplane, you're allowed to combine between prayer
and shortening the prayer.
Right.
Because you are traveling.
The third point, when it comes to praying
in the airplane, is facing the Qibla.
Okay.
One thing can help you a lot.
The Prophet said to the Sahaba, the Sahaba
one night pray in the night.
So, the Qibla in Medina is to Mecca
is what?
South.
Right.
So, the Prophet said from east to west
is Qibla.
Because some of them prayed southeast, some of
them southwest.
Right.
So, like this.
So, the Prophet said from east to west,
Qibla, as long as you're facing what?
South.
South, yeah.
So, The majority of your body is facing
south, right?
Yes.
So, now you're traveling to Mecca from America
or flying east.
Your Qibla from north to south.
So, if you go this way, this way,
this way, this way, this way, because sometimes
the airplane you cannot have it 100%
towards the Qibla.
But even if it's a little bit like
20 degree here, 20 degree there, left or
right, it's fine.
You know?
You can just move yourself a little bit
if you have to.
Sometimes you can.
Let's assume or it's hard for you to
do that where it's not comfortable, not safe,
whatever it is.
You know?
So, I'm just giving you the option to
know that there is flexibility in the issue.
But what's not allowed is for you, for
example, to going to California and you say
Allah Akbar facing California while, you know, Mecca
behind your back.
That will not be visible.
Exactly.
Unless, unless, there is no way for you
to face the Qibla.
I can't.
It's not.
Let's say everybody, there is a turbulence and
you have to anchor down and you cannot
turn in your seat or stand up or
anything like that.
You're not allowed.
Or you worry if you stand up or
you do something like that, that might cause,
you know, how sensitivity in airplane these days.
Right, exactly.
It can cause a problem for you.
You don't want to go into that.
So, also, I'm not going to arrive California
before the time get out.
And what I mean by the time, the
time of the combining prayers.
So, let's say I'm leaving here, but I
will arrive California at night.
Okay.
That means you will have to pray in
the airplane.
Right.
But if I arrive there before Maghrib.
Then you pray there.
I wait until I arrive there.
I pray Maghrib and Asr together because I
can't face the Qibla.
Right.
But if you can't face the Qibla, you
can combine.
But I'm talking about in a case where
you cannot face the Qibla.
Okay.
Also, what about if you can't and you're
going to arrive there after Maghrib.
In this case, we said, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala said, فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ Fear
Allah according to your ability.
Happen a lot when you come from, for
example, from the east.
Coming from Pakistan, coming from Egypt, coming from
Istanbul, coming to America.
The Qibla is behind you.
Behind you, yes.
So, you can't really face it and it's
not possible to do that.
In this case, when you're going to arrive
in the night.
So, you don't want to miss Dhuhr and
Asr.
When you land, you pray them.
No, you pray them in the airplane.
If you can, just look and say, اللَّهُ
أَكْبَرُ Anything you can do from the obligation,
it's good.
Even if it's just, اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ Then after
that, you go.
If that's the best you can do, it's
fine.
If you can't do anything of that, you
just say, اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, Fear Allah,
do whatever you can do.
As for standing, No doubt, النبي صلى الله
عليه وسلم صَلِّ قَائِمًا فَإِلَّا مِن تَسْتَطَعْ فَجَالِسًا
Pray standing, if you can, sitting.
And here is, Can you stand up in
the airplane?
In my opinion, no.
Why?
Because it's not safe.
Anytime the flight can disturb and happen, you
can fall, you can harm yourself or other
people.
Also, in many places, this can be a
little bit suspicious activity and people are very
sensitive towards this and the people doesn't want
to take the risk.
So for me, I have no problem.
It's like النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم give
a permission to people in the سفينة, in
the boat.
And علم رحمه الله talk about people in
the boat allowed to pray sitting, because it's
not stable.
This is a very good example.
Yeah, so if that's the case in the
boat, it's the same thing in the airplane.
So for that, I would say, you are
allowed to pray while you're sitting.
And when you pray, you basically, when it
comes to the ركوع, you go a little
bit farther.
In the سجود, you go a little bit
farther.
You don't need to go all the way
in the bottom of the table and to
make an actual سجود.
You just look, you go a little bit
farther.
Just like praying on a chair.
Yeah, and you go like this for the
سجود and with تشهد and you say السلام
عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.
So this is basically the way to pray
in the airplane in regard to the timing,
regarding to the way you pray, how to
perform the prayer, the issue of قبلة and
the issue of standing versus sitting.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows best.
صلى الله عليه وسلم عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
JazakAllah khair, Shaykh.
That was very informative.
Thank you.