Ruling on offering an obligatory prayer on the bus when it is not necessary to do so, when he does all the essential parts of the prayer

Question: 171900

I am a bus driver and sometimes I have to offer an obligatory prayer during my short rest period on my empty bus. I have a large space where I can face towards the qiblah and do all the essential parts (“pillars”) of the prayer. But I was surprised when a brother told me that the bus comes under the same ruling as a mount and it is not permissible to offer an obligatory prayer on it; rather he said I should exit the bus and pray on the street, so long as there is nothing to prevent me from doing so such as rain and so on.

Is it true that I should not pray on the bus, which is thirteen meters long and has space in the middle that is enough for me to pray, when it is parked in the garage?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

It is not
permissible for a Muslim to offer an obligatory prayer on his mount, unless
there is a valid excuse, because on a mount he will omit some of the
essential parts of the prayer, such as standing, bowing and prostrating.

It was narrated
from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to pray on his mount facing
towards the east, but when he wanted to offer an obligatory prayer, he would
dismount and face towards the qiblah.

Ibn Battaal said:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for anyone to
offer the obligatory prayer on his mount without a valid excuse. Because
offering obligatory prayers on one’s mount when it is possible to dismount
is not permissible, and because the conditions of the obligatory prayer
stipulate that the worshipper should face towards the qiblah and continue to
do so throughout, an obligatory prayer offered by a rider who cannot stand
up or face the qiblah is not valid.

End quote from
al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 27/231

But this ruling
does not apply to one who prays on a bus when he is able to do all the
obligatory and essential parts of the prayer, such as facing towards the
qiblah, standing, bowing and prostrating. The scholars have stated that
praying in a howdah is valid, because one can do all the obligatory parts of
the prayer. The howdah is like a room on the camel’s back.

An-Nawawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: The conditions of the obligatory prayer are
that the worshipper should face towards the qiblah and continue to do so
throughout. It is not valid without facing towards the qiblah except in
cases of extreme fear, and it is not valid on the part of one who is walking
whilst facing towards the qiblah, or one who is riding and is not able to
stand up or face towards the qiblah. And there is no difference of scholarly
opinion on this point.

If he faces
towards the qiblah and does all the essential parts of the prayer in the
howdah or similar place on the back of a mount that is standing, there are
two opinions concerning the validity of his obligatory prayer. The more
correct opinion is that it is valid and this was stated definitively by the
majority.

End quote from
Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, 3/221

It says in
al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (27/231): If the obligatory prayer is offered
on one’s mount, that is not permissible unless there is an excuse, because
the conditions of the obligatory prayer are that the worshipper should be
facing towards the qiblah and continue to do so throughout, and he should
fulfil all the conditions and essential parts. But if a person is able to
offer the obligatory prayer atop his mount, fulfilling all of its conditions
and doing all of its essential parts, even if he has no excuse, his prayer
is valid. This is the view of the Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis, and it is the
preferred view of the Maalikis.

End quote.

Based on that,
there is nothing wrong with you praying on the bus so long as you do all the
essential parts of the prayer.

But it must be
noted that it is obligatory to offer the obligatory prayer with the Muslim
congregation in the houses of Allah (i.e., in the mosques) and it is not
permissible to stay away from offering the prayer in congregation in the
mosque except for one who has an excuse. For more information please see the
answer to question no. 8918 and
40299.

And Allah knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

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