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What is the ruling for someone who is late for Maghrib prayer due to work and being preoccupied with a train schedule: should he pray it on the train present or wait until he arrives after the entry of the 'Isha' prayer time, and is it permissible for him to pray sitting in the train if he is able to stand, and is he obliged to face the Qiblah in this situation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

For the permissibility of shortening (qasr) and combining (jam') prayers during travel, the distance must be approximately 80 kilometers, starting from the point of departing the original town's inhabited area. If the mentioned distance between the place of residence and the place of work is considered a travel distance, then it is permissible to combine the Maghrib and Isha prayers by delaying them (jam' ta'khir) upon arrival at the place of work. However, if it is not a travel distance, then the Maghrib prayer must be performed within its prescribed time. If this is not possible before boarding the train, then it should be prayed on the train, while observing the ability to stand, bow, and prostrate, or to gesture them (i'ma'), and striving to face the Qibla. Some scholars have permitted combining prayers for non-travelers when there is hardship and difficulty.

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

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