Prayer at work and while travelling

Question: I was wondering how we do prayer at work. I’m in my car visiting people daily, and I perform the morning and last prayer but struggle to do in between. How do we pray whilst traveling, and what are the rules if we want to pray in the car? بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Regardless of one’s location, we would pray the same, whether at work or home. Work is not an excuse to miss one’s prayer. We advise you to inform your employer of your religious duty of praying, and there are certain times you would need to fulfill this obligation. Arrange a schedule with him, so there is no misunderstanding between yourself, your employer, and the other employees.

If there are other Muslim employees, you should try your best to perform Salah in a group. For privacy, you can request your employer for a separate room to perform your prayers. If such a room is not available, you can pray in an isolated area where it would not interfere with others working, e.g., an unoccupied corner.

If you work outdoors, e.g., driving a taxi, you can stop at a local Masjid to perform your prayer with the congregation when it is time for prayer. If you cannot make it to a Masjid, you can perform your prayer in a place open to the public, e.g., a park. We advise you to keep a prayer mat, water, utensil for making wudu/istinja, etc. handy when driving or traveling.

While traveling, the four Rakat prayers, e.g., Zuhr, Asr, and Isha, will be shortened and prayed in two rakats. The rest of the prayers will be prayed in full, including the Witr prayer. If the traveler is in a rush/‘on the go’, then, apart from the Sunnah of Fajr, he may omit the Sunnah prayers and suffice on the Fard/Wajib prayers. However, in normal circumstances, when one is settled, he should also pray the Sunnah prayers.

If one prays their obligatory prayer while sitting without a valid excuse, e.g., such an illness that prevents him from standing, the prayer would be invalid because standing is mandatory. Travel or work does not justify praying in the sitting position.

It is impermissible to combine prayers in such a way that one does not perform a prayer in its prescribed time. Kindly refer to the following link for more details: https://daruliftabirmingham.co.uk/combining-two-prayers/.

Fatawa Hindiya: v. 1, p. 76 & 153 (DKI); Ahsanul Fatawa: v. 4, p. 71 (HM Saeed Company); Bahishti Zewar: p. 183 (DARUL-ISHAAT)

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Mohammad Ahsan Osmani Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah Darul Ifta Birmingham