
Can I pray if there is someone sitting in a chair in front of me and I can only see his back?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing wrong with praying behind someone who is sitting if he gives you his back; rather it is makrooh to pray facing his face, if that will distract the one who is praying.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Mughni(2/40):
It is makrooh to pray facing a person’s face, because ‘Umar disciplined people for doing so. According to the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to pray level with the middle of the bed whilst I was lying down between him and the qiblah. When I needed something, I would not want to get up facing him, so I would slip away. Agreed upon. End quote.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Majmoo‘(3/230): It is makrooh to pray with a man or woman in front of you, facing him where you can see him. This was regarded as makrooh by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allah be pleased with them). And because it usually distracts one. It is also makrooh to look at what will distract one, such as a garment with decorations on it, or looking up towards the sky, and other things that are mentioned in the saheeh hadeeths. Al-Bukhaari said in hisSaheeh: ‘Uthmaan (may Allah be pleased with him) regarded it as nakrooh to face a man when praying. Al-Bukhaari said: Rather that applies if one will be distracted by that, but if he will not be distracted, Zayd ibn Thaabit said: I do not mind; a man does not interrupt the prayer of another man.
End quote.
With regard to one who is sitting with his back towards the one who is praying, if he does not move and distract the one who is praying, there is nothing wrong with praying behind him, just as there is nothing wrong with praying facing one who is sleeping, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (382) and Muslim (512) from ‘Aa’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said: I used to sleep in front of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), with my legs in the direction of his qiblah. When he prostrated he would poke me and I would draw my legs up, and when he stood up I would stretch them out. She said: There were no lamps in the houses at that time.
And Allah knows best.


'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
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{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)




In the tribe of Bani Israel, there lived a pious person by the name of Jareeh, who used to engage himself in Allah's (SWT) worship, in his monastery. One day, his mother approached him while he was busy in prayer and, as a result, he did not respond to her. She approached him for a second time, but again, Jareeh did not answer to his mother.
When this happened for the third time, she became angry and cursed him saying, "I pray to Allah (SWT) that He does not help you!"
The next day a prostitute came up to his monastery and giving birth to a child there, declared: "This is Jareeh's child whom I have given birth to."
This created uproar among the people, who thought: "The very person, who used to rebuke us for fornication, has committed it himself." The king ordered him to be sent to the gallows.
When Jareeh's mother came to know of this, she began beating her face in distress whereupon he said to her, "Keep quiet, for it is due to your curse that I find myself in this predicament."
The people asked him, "O' Jareeh! How can we know that you speak the truth?"
Jareeh told them to bring the child to him. When the child was brought, he prayed and then questioned the child, "Who is your father?" The child, with divine power and permission, said, "My father is such and such a shepherd belonging to such and such a tribe."
This incident saved Jareeh's life after which he vowed never to separate from his mother and to serve her throughout her life.