How to pray on a moving bus, train, plane or boat

Many people travelling by bus, train, launch, ship or plane wonder how to pray when prayer time comes on the way. According to Ittefaq's religion desk, prayer matters just as much on a journey, but the method can change with the kind of vehicle, whether one can stand, face the qibla, and bow and prostrate.

On a launch or boat moored firmly at the ghat, where one can stand safely, the prayer is offered normally, standing and facing the qibla with full bowing and prostration. On a moving vessel, too, one should stand if it is safe, face the qibla and, if the vessel turns, try to turn towards the qibla during the prayer. Those who cannot stand because of illness, dizziness or fear of falling may pray seated, bowing and prostrating as far as they can.

On trains and planes, where there is safe room to stand, the basic rule is to pray in the normal way, holding on to something for balance if necessary. Staff or a compass app can help find the qibla, but prayer should not break safety rules or block other passengers. Where crowding makes standing or normal bowing impossible, the schools of law differ, so it is best to ask a reliable scholar before the time runs out.

On a moving bus it is usually hard to stand or to bow and prostrate towards the qibla. The first step is to ask the driver or supervisor to stop somewhere safe so passengers can get off and pray. If the bus will not stop, many scholars hold that a person who can clear a seat, kneel, bow normally, prostrate on the seat and keep facing the qibla has prayed validly. Resting one's forehead on the back of the seat in front while seated is, by consensus, not a valid prostration, and that prayer must be repeated.

If the obligatory conditions cannot be met in any way, one should still pray as best one can, even seated with gestures, rather than let the time pass. This is called 'hurmat al-waqt', honouring the prayer time; it avoids the grave sin of abandoning the prayer, but the prayer must be made up later.

The explanation cites Ahsan al-Fatawa, Radd al-Muhtar, I'la al-Sunan, Jawahir al-Fiqh, Ma'arif al-Sunan and al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya. The core principle is to meet the conditions of prayer as far as possible on a journey and to give the prayer time its due.

Source: Ittefaq