How to Pray on a Plane?
Have you ever traveled by plane before, and needed to perform the prayer before it is due? Sometimes it is possible to miss the time of a prayer while flying or traveling by road. If you are wondering how to pray on a plane, you will find the answers to your questions on this article.
While on the airplane, it is possible to pray in a sitting position, since it would not be possible to pray standing. It is also possible to shorten the prayers Zuhr, asr and Isha to two rakats, and combine Zuhr and Asr together as well Maghreb and Isha together.
As Muslim travelers, we must make prayers our priority, while we are on our journey. We are obliged to perform our daily prayers on time. Praying is also the most basic form of gratitude to our Creator, who has given us wealth, time and health to travel. If you do not want to miss the prayer times while on the plane, You should inquire about prayer times before a flight. Thus, you can find out if you can miss the prayer times while on the plane.
Here is a video explaining the process:
When can i pray on a Plane?
As it is known, there are certain conditions for performing prayers. Standing and facing the Qiblah during an obligatory prayer are two of the essential parts of the prayer. According to the views of scholars, there are three possibilities when prayer time comes on the plane.
1- If the plane has landed at the airport during the time of prayer and there is enough time to perform the prayer, Islamic schools state that the prayer should be performed by facing the Qiblah and standing.
2- If a person who is traveling by plane and the prayer time comes, and if he is worried that the time of prayer will be missed when the plane lands at the airport, and if it is possible to perform prayers by turning to Qibla while standing, then he should perform his prayer during flight.
For example; If there is a space in the plane where you can pray and you can find the direction of the qibla, you must perform your prayers in accordance with the prayer conditions. However, most of the time it is almost impossible to find a place where we can pray our Salah on the plane.
3- In this case if a person who is traveling by plane and the prayer time comes, and if he is worried that the time of prayer will be missed when the plane lands at the airport, however there is no space or if the space is too narrow for one to perform his prayers, one can perform prayer while sitting.
Performing Salah While Sitting On a Plane
Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Imran ibn Al-Husayn that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: ”Perform Salah while standing and if you cannot, perform it while sitting and if you cannot do even that, then perform it lying on your side. ” (Bukhari, 218)
As it is clearly stated in the hadith, if it is not possible to perform prayers while standing, you should perform prayers while sitting..
Another Option to Perform Salah for Travellers by Flight
Prayer is one of the five important acts of worship in Islam. As Muslims we have obligations to pray Salah five times a day. Each prayer takes place within a specific prayer time. However, sometimes it can be difficult to pray on time due to the circumstances. As we know, there is always a convenience in Islam. One of these conveniences has been brought for travellers.
If you are traveling somewhere by plane and your journey is at least 48 miles (approximately 80 km), it is possible to combine some prayers. You can combine 2 rakat Fard of Dhuhr and Asr in the time of Dhuhr or Asr. You can also combine 2 rakat Fard of Maghrib and Isha prayers in time of Maghrib or Isha. However Fards of Fajr cannot be combined. Therefore, when the plane arrives at the airport, you can perform the Dhuhr and Asr prayers or combine Maghrib and Isha prayers by standing and facing Qibla.
For more Information about how to perform Salah while travelling, you can check out this article.
InshAllah this clears up any confusion you may have had.