A non-Muslim girl wants to learn about Islam and testify to Islam in
front of Allah. She wants to pray and to do all religious commitments.
Is she permitted to pray dhuhr and 'asr only and leave the other
prayers due to the difficulty she will meet at home?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We ask Allaah to help andguide this girl and to open her heart to
Islam, and to fill her heart with the light of faith. We advise her to
do that and not to hesitate, and to announce her Islam to herLord, and
to bear witness to the testimony of Islam, and to do whatever she can
of its rituals.
Secondly:
The Muslim is obliged to offer the five prayers every day and night,
and it is not permissible to omit any of them, no matter what one's
excuse,so long as one is of sound mind.
If this girl cannot pray Maghrib, 'Isha' and Fajr forfear that her
family may find out that she is Muslim, then she should not avoid
praying, but shecan do the following:
1- Join Maghrib and 'Isha' at the time of the earlier or later
prayer, andpray them in secret. Reciting out loud in the prayers in
which Qur'aan is recited out loud, such asFajr, Maghrib and 'Isha', is
Sunnah, not obligatory. The same applies to raising the hands when
saying the opening takbeer and when saying the takbeers when changing
posture, and placing the right hand over the left when standing. All
of these are Sunnah actions.
2- She may limit herself to doing the pillars and essential parts
of the prayer. So she may recite al-Faatihah and not recite a soorah
after it, and she may recite just one tasbeehah when bowing and
prostrating. Thus she will be able to do the prayer in a few minutes.
Girls are usually able to close the door of their rooms for a few
minutes, such as when they changetheir clothes and the like, so she
can do the prayer during that time.
3- If she wants to do wudoo', she can do wudoo' in the bathroom
where no one can see her,as if she is relieving herself. If she is
unable to do wudoo' then she can do tayammum, even if she uses the
wall or furniture of the house andprays with this tayammum.
4- If we assume that shecannot hide from her family even for a few
minutes in which to pray, and she is afraid that if they find out she
is Muslim she will suffer realharm, then it is permissible for her to
pray whilst sitting, gesturing for the bowing and prostrating. If that
is not possible then she maypray sitting and intendingin her heart to
bow and prostrate, whilst facing the qiblah. If she is unableto face
the qiblah, then she may pray facing in any direction. If we assume
that she can only pray whilst lying down, then she may do that.
Thepoint is that prayer is not waived for one who is accountable under
any circumstances.
The basic principle concerning that is the verse in which Allaah
says(interpretation of the meaning): "Allaah burdens not a person
beyond his scope" [al-Baqarah 2:286] and the words of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Pray standing, and if
you cannot then sitting, and if you cannot then on your side."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1117) and Abu Dawood (952).
The fuqaha' mentioned some cases in which the requirement to face the
qiblah and bow and prostrate is waived, such as when fleeing from a
wild animal or a flood or when fighting breaks out on the battlefield,
when there is not enough time to do the prayer properly with all its
essential parts.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (1/258):
To sum up: if the fear is so intense that one cannot pray facing the
qiblah or one needs to walk or is unable to do some of the essential
parts of prayer, either because of permissible flight from an enemy,
flood, wild beast or fire and the like, which one can only escape by
fleeing, or when engagingin fighting the enemy or when fighting breaks
out on the battlefield, and there is a need to charge and retreat and
stab and strike and chase, then he may pray according to his
situation, whether he is walking or riding, facing the qiblah if
possible, or facing any other direction if that is not possible.
If he is unable to bow andprostrate, he may gesture to indicate them,
and leanforward more for prostration than bowing, according to what he
is able to do. If he is unable to gesture, then it is waived. If he is
unable to stand or sit and so on, then they are waived. If he needs to
stab and strike and charge and retreat, he may do that. He should not
delay the prayer until the time for itis over because Allaah says
(interpretation of themeaning): "And if you fear(an enemy), perform
Salaah (pray) on foot or riding" [al-Baqarah 2:239]. And Maalik
narrated from Naafi' that Ibn 'Umar said: If the fear is greater than
that, they may pray walking, :->
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