Salat al-Marid
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Safir Press
Salat al-Marid (The Prayer of the Sick Person), in full Salat al-Marid: Mafhum, wa-Fada'il, wa-Adab, wa-Kayfiyyah, wa-Ahkam fi Daw' al-Kitab wa-al-Sunnah (صلاة المريض: مفهوم، وفضائل، وآداب، وكيفية، وأحكام في ضوء الكتاب والسنة), is a concise legal treatise by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) examining the jurisprudential rulings, spiritual virtues, purification methods, and prayer postures prescribed for the sick and for travelers on various modes of transportation .
Composition and Purpose
Al-Qahtani completed the treatise between the Maghrib and Isha prayers on Saturday, 15 Dhu al-Hijjah 1421 AH (10 March 2001 CE) . The book was published as the thirty-third entry in his multi-volume scholarly series, Silsilat Mu'allafat Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani . The author composed the work to provide a brief yet comprehensive reference outlining the ease and tolerance of Islamic law regarding those afflicted by illness, supporting each legal ruling with evidence from the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah .
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized into thematic sections addressing both the spiritual and legal dimensions of sickness and worship:
- Concept of Illness: Defines illness (marad) linguistically and legally as a deficiency in health affecting either part or all of the body .
- Patience and Spiritual Rewards: Explains the obligation and virtues of patience (sabr) and anticipating divine reward (ihtisab) during physical affliction, citing traditions on how illness expiates sins .
- Supplication and Health: Discusses the etiquette of praying for well-being (afiyah) rather than seeking affliction, as well as the principle that good deeds performed during periods of health continue to be recorded for the believer during times of incapacitating illness .
- Ease of Islamic Law: Highlights textual proofs demonstrating that Islamic legislation removes hardship and facilitates worship according to one's capability .
- Purification for the Sick: Details methods of ritual purification (taharah), including standard water ablution (wudu) and bathing (ghusl), cleansing impurities (istinja and istijmar), dry ablution (tayammum) when water cannot be used or causes harm, wiping over medical casts and bandages (al-jaba'ir), handling soiled garments, and the rulings for individuals with continuous incontinence or chronic bleeding (salis al-bawl and istihadah) .
- Manner of Prayer: Details how an ill person performs obligatory prayers according to physical capacity—standing without support, standing while leaning on a cane or wall, standing with a hunched posture, sitting, lying on one's side, or gesturing (ima') with head movements for bowing (ruku) and prostration (sujud) .
- Prayer on Conveyances: Examines both concise and detailed rulings for performing prayers aboard ships, passenger vessels, trains, airplanes, and automobiles, as well as the rules governing voluntary prayers (nawafil) during travel on these modes of transport .
Method and Sources
Al-Qahtani's methodology relies on connecting legal questions directly to their scriptural proofs from the Quran and canonical hadith collections . In determining legal preferences and weighing jurisprudential opinions, the author drew extensively from the assessments and rulings of his teacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz .
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