When to Pray When Having a Chronic Excuse?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question

I pray this reaches you in the best of imaan and health.

If someone has a chronic wind problem and is categorised as ‘excused’, I understand that it may be better and perhaps recommended to pray salah as soon as wudu is made. But is it permissible to make wudu (when salah time enters) and pray a little later? For example, if a person makes wudu from home for Isha/taraweeh and then travels to the masjid after magrib and iftar, which may take about 40 minutes, and avoids doing it in the masjid as they may miss jama’ah, is that okay?

Or for example, in a lesson which gives 10 minute breaks out of 2 hours (which after 2 hours is complete only about 30-40 minutes is left until magrib), if someone makes wudu in that 10 minutes for asr, and then when lesson is over prays, rather than making wudu when the lesson is over and then praying thereafter, will that be okay as well?

Answer

I pray that you are well and in the best of heath, insha’Allah.

Yes, it would be permitted to delay the performance of the prayer, however, only until later within the same prayer time. This is as long as:

[1] One performed the ritual ablution (wudu) at the start of the prayer time;

[2] And it was not nullified by the occurrence of that which invalidates the ablution (wudu), other than the excuse.

Otherwise, the ablution (wudu) of the one with a chronic excuse is vitiated by the exiting of the prayer time and one would need to renew one’s ablution (wudu).

Nevertheless, it remains necessary to take all reasonable means to stop that which makes one unable to retain one’s ablution (wudu); therefore, if it is possible to pray sitting such that the excuse does not occur, (i.e. the passing of wind in this case), one must pray sitting. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; `Ala al-Din `Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-`Ala’iyya]

Please see the following resources for further information:

[1] The Fiqh of Chronic Excuses and Ablution
[2] Chronic Excuse: Can I Pray As Many Prayers As I Want With A Single Ablution?
[3] How Can I Maintain Purity and Pray When I Have a Weak Bladder that Constantly Leaks?

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan, and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.