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Is it permissible for a person praying alone who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome to pray alone if he experiences severe noises and rumbling in his abdomen that cause him extreme embarrassment during prayer?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Severe pain in the colon is an excuse for not attending congregational prayer in the mosque. However, a mere gurgling sound from the stomach is not an excuse unless it is severe and causes extreme embarrassment, because that distracts the heart and diminishes the completeness of khushu' (devotion) in prayer, similar to what is mentioned in the hadith about food when prayer time arrives. In this case, one should strive to perform the congregational prayer at home if possible, as many scholars hold that what is obligatory is congregational prayer, whether in the mosque or elsewhere.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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