He works in a hospital and sometimes cannot attend Friday prayer

22/09/2011| IslamWeb

Question

A.S.W. I AM WORKING IN A HOSPITAL AND SOMETIME I CANT GO OUT TO MASJIZ FOR FRIDAY PRAYER.BUT WE ALL KNOW THIS IS MUST FOR EVERY MUSLIM.PLEASE GUIDE ME HOW CAN I ADJUST FRIDAY PRAYER WHEN I AM ON DUTY.. I AM VERY MUCH CONFUSED ABOUT THIS. SECONDALLY PLZ LET ME KNOW ABOUT SOME FACTS IN RAMZAN. IS THIS MUST TO COVER YOUR HEAD BY CAP WHOLE DAY IN RAMZAN. I HEARD YOU CANT SWALLOW YOUR SALIVA AND KEEP SPITTING IT. ONE HAS TO MAINTAIN ABLUTION THROUGH OUT THE DAY WHEN YOU ARE ON FASTING. I USE TO CLEAR MY FACTS WITH YOU ONLY AS YOU SHOW THE RULING WITH PROPER EVIDENCES . EALRIER WHEN I CONSULTED SOME PEOPLE SAY YOU DO THIS AND OTHER SAY DO THAT WHICH MAKED MY MIND CONFUSED . THANKS A LOT FOR THE SERVICE YOU ARE PROVIDING TO THE PEOPLE. ALLAHA HAFIZ M.BILAL 

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

It is due on you to perform the Friday prayer, and it is impermissible for you to remain behind and leave it except for a legitimate excuse. It is narrated by At-Tirmithi on the authority of Abu Al-Ja‘d Adh-Dhamri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah said: “He who leaves three Friday prayers out of negligence, Allah will put a seal over his heart.” According to the narration of Muslim, “Let those people stop leaving the Friday prayer, otherwise Allah will put a seal on their hearts, and afterwards, they will be among the heedless.”

Hence, that you work in a hospital is not a legitimate excuse for you to leave the Friday prayer, unless you fear that your absence will cause harm to the patients and there is no one to replace you on whom the Friday prayer is not due, in which case, we hope this will be a legitimate excuse for you to leave the Friday prayer.

In fact, the scholars mentioned some excuses that permit one to leave the Friday prayer, such as him nursing a patient or fearing for himself or his property.

On the other hand, it is not due on the fasting - or non-fasting - person to cover his head, nor is it due on one to remain in a state of ablution while fasting. Rather, it is favorable for him to maintain his ablution in general, whether or not he is fasting, based on the statement of the Prophet “and none but a believer maintains his ablution.” [Ibn Maajah]

Also, there is no blame on the fasting person to swallow his own saliva while fasting, since it is difficult to avoid that. Imaam An-Nawawi conveyed the consensus about that, saying: “To swallow one’s own saliva does not break the fast, by consensus.” According to the words of Ibn Qudaamah in his book “Al-Mughni”, “And that which one could hardly avoid, like swallowing his own saliva, does not break the fast, because it is difficult to avoid that. This is similar to the dust on the road and the dust rising from sifting the flour.”

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb