Question
A sister is having back pain and kidney problem for which she faces difficulty to do qayam in every rakah. Will it be allowed for her to do qayam in the first rakah and complete remaing salah while seated?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب
Answer
Firstly, understand that a person who is unable to perform a true sajdah – meaning, performing sajdah on the ground or on an object 12 fingers (9 inches) high causes unbearable pain or worsens their illness – then sajdah becomes waived for them. And since sajdah is the primary objective, with its waiver, ruku’ and qiyam also become waived. For such a person, it is preferable to pray while sitting on the ground. And if they continue to stand in qiyam and perform ruku’ and sajdah or only sajdah by gestures, then doing so is also permissible.
Therefore, if the woman mentioned in the question does not have the ability to perform true ruku’ and sajdah in addition to difficulty in qiyam, then it is not even necessary for her to stand in the first rak’ah. Rather, she can pray the entire salat sitting and will perform ruku’ and sajdah by gestures.
However, if the aforementioned woman is able to perform sajdah but cannot perform full qiyam and has difficulty in qiyam, then it is obligatory for her to perform qiyam for as long as she is able in every rak’ah, even if it is with the support of a wall, pillar, or stick. Only after performing qiyam to the extent of her ability will she be allowed to sit. And if she is able to perform qiyam in every rak’ah, even if for a short while, then merely performing qiyam in the first rak’ah will not be sufficient, because qiyam is obligatory in every rak’ah to the extent of one’s ability. Therefore, it will be obligatory to perform qiyam for as long as she is able in each rak’ah, and then she will be permitted to sit. However, if she is only able to perform qiyam in the first rak’ah, then she will be permitted to pray the remaining rak’ahs while sitting. And since in this situation she has the ability to perform ruku’ and sajdah, therefore, the concession of performing ruku’ and sajdah by gestures will not apply. Rather, she must perform ruku’ by bending her back and sajdah by placing her forehead on the ground. You should act upon he Islamic rulings according to the details provided.
Answered by: Mubashir Madani (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 14th October 2026
