Back to search

Is it permissible to perform the obligatory prayer sitting in a car out of fear of missing its time and inability to perform it outside the car in a non-Muslim country?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If performing the prayer in the street does not lead to significant harm, then it is obligatory to perform it for fear of the prayer time expiring. Prayer in a car is not valid due to the omission of some of its pillars. If significant harm is feared, it is permissible to combine two prayers that share a time, by performing them as a delayed combination (jam‘ ta’khir) upon reaching a safe place. If one fears the prayer time will expire and it is not possible to pray in the street due to fear of harm, then one should pray in the car to the best of one’s ability, and then repeat the prayer after reaching the mosque or home as a precautionary measure.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy