Is it permissible to instruct an elderly, healthy grandmother in her prayer from beginning to end, and is it permissible to compel her to bow and prostrate, and is ritual purity (ṭahārah) and ablution (wuḍūʾ) required for the instructor?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If the grandmother is of sound mind and understands what she is doing, then she must pray according to her ability, and there is no harm in your assisting her in that. It is not a condition for the helper to have ablution, but whatever touches her must be pure. However, if senility has caused her to lose her mind, then prayer is not obligatory for her due to the lifting of accountability, and you are not required to teach her or assist her.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/119779
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 119779
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy