A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham
Question:
Assalām alaykum. A phenomenon has spread in the masjids of our country,
Libya, where there are many worshippers praying on chairs. In some masjids, the
chairs are purchased using masjid funds. I am hoping for clarification on this
issue and its sharʿī rules according to other madhhabs. In the madhhab of
our country, the Mālikī madhhab, it is not permissible to pray on a chair even if
one is disabled. It is better to pray
while sitting on the ground. May Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī):
The issue of praying on a chair, i.e. its ruling, depends on
the opinion of a trustworthy doctor regarding the condition of the patient. If
the doctor prohibits the person from praying while seated, meaning he is unable
to bend his knees on the ground, then he has no option but to pray on a chair
when prostrating (sujūd). In this case, his prayer is valid according to
all the madhhabs.
If, however, the doctor prohibits the person from standing
but does not prevent his from performing other movements—such as placing his
forehead on the ground during sujūd—then it is obligatory for him to do so, and
his prayer on a chair would not be valid unless he prostrates on the ground
like everyone else. The specific use of a chair in this scenario would have no
significance or necessity.
As for spending funds that have been collected specifically
for the construction of the masjid, it is not permissible to use these funds to
purchase such chairs. Rather, the chairs are to be purchased from funds that have
been collected explicitly for that purpose.
