Salat - The Muslim Prayer Book — Page 87
S al a t —The Muslim Prayer Book 87 If he cannot bow down or prostrate, he is allowed to make symbolic gestures to that effect, and if he is so sick that he cannot move his head or hand, he can fulfill this obligation by making gestures in his mind. PRAYER DURING A JOURNEY If a person is travelling by any means of transportation which precludes his standing up for Prayer, nor can he get off from the vehicle, he can offer his Prayer while seated and the condition of facing towards the Qiblah would not be mandatory in this situation. He should face in the direction in which the mount, vehicle, boat or airplane, etc. , is moving, if possible. In the early days of Islam, the Z uhr, ‘A s r and ‘Ish a ’ congregational Prayer services had only two Rak‘ a t , just like Fajr Prayer but subsequently they continued to be of two Rak‘ a t length only for a person who is on a journey. In normal circumstances, the number of Rak‘ a t were doubled. Hence, normally, one has to perform four Rak‘ a t Far d each, for Z uhr , ‘A s r and ‘Ish a ’ Prayers while a traveller offers only two Rak‘ a t for each of the above-mentioned Prayers. If a traveller reaches a place where he intends to stay less than 15 days, then this concession will apply and he will shorten his Prayers as mentioned above. However, this concession does not apply to the Far d part of the Fajr and Maghrib Prayers. If a person is staying with a close relative whose house he regards as his own, e. g. his parents’ home, the home of his in-laws, or a religious headquarter