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Praying When Outside When In A Foreign Country
Assalam o Alaikum,
I live in a communist country in which technically practicing religion isn’t allowed in public. Practically this is not always enforced however when there is a crowd or a public event there is always a fear of being reprimanded by authorities ( at the very least). Sometimes I have to be gone for half a day or more running errands or maybe even for enjoyment with family. It becomes a matter of great stress deciding whether to pray, where to pray and even if I should pray while sitting to avoid drawing attention to myself.
I do sometimes conveniently find an isolated place to pray but this is not always the case.
My questions are :
-In case of genuine concern that I will be reprimanded ( like in a subway station or mall or museum), can I wait till I get back home?
-Can I pray while sitting to avoid attention on to myself for sake of discretion ?
-Should I perform wuzu in a public bathroom where I can again get reprimanded by authorities?
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4 Replies
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Praying When Outside When In A Foreign Country
updated 5 days, 9 hours ago
2 Members
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4
Replies
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If this is only a reprimand and does not punish you, you should say your prayer wherever you are at a suitable place. You have to obey God ignoring what people think or say. This is your test and you need to be strong.
During traveling, you can use the relaxations provided by Shariah. If it is difficult to make ablution, you can do dry ablution, Tayammumm, you can combine prayers.
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Jazak Allah sir!
I sometimes combine prayers when I have to run errands outside the home or even go to a restaurant ( very crowded places where if I try perform Salah, atleast by standing, I will either obstruct other people or other people will obstruct me ). I do this because I fear I will not get the opportunity to pray. Similarly on very rare occasions, I’ve decided to pray while sitting because in such crowded public places where just standing towards the qibla can cause disruption or maybe there are so many staring men around that I feel uncomfortable as a woman. Are these justifiable or am I just making things too easy for myself?
Can travelling be interpreted as just being outside the house and feeling stressed about finding a suitable place to pray ( especially in a non Muslim country where I can’t simply ask a restaurant owner or shopkeeper permission to pray) ?
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In such cases you can perform your prayer while walking, or sitting. This is allowed. Allah says in the Quran:
إِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًا ۖ فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَ
Then if you fear any danger, pray on foot or while riding, in whichever way you like, but when circumstances become secure, remember God in the very manner He has taught you, which you knew not. (2: 239)
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However can I also wait to combine my salah / or preemptively combine it ( for example praying asr with zuhr before leaving the house as I suspect it will be difficult to pray and asr time will run out or waiting to pray maghrib with isha when in market ) or is it better to try my best to find a way to pray in proper time ( sitting or standing) though ot causes significant stress?
Or they are similar in terms of correctness and I should decide according to the situation?
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