Can I Pray with Someone Sleeping in Front of Me?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I stay in a girls’ hostel with limited floor space. Can I pray on my bed using a sutra if another girl is lying or sleeping in front of me towards the qibla?

Answer

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

It is not disliked to pray behind sleeping people, as long as:

1.  there is no fear that something happening from the people sleeping could make you laugh (such as wind) or disturb your focus (such as nudity being uncovered)
2. as long as the people sleeping are not facing you. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fatah]

‘Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) has said: “The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to pray the night prayer fully while I was laying down between him and the qibla.” [Bukhari]

Caution

The real problem in your situation is that you are praying over a bed rather than the floor.

If the mattress is soft enough that it will allow your head to sink in by pressing on it, then your prayer is invalid. And realistically, this is the case for any mattresses.

For your prayer to be valid, you have to pray on a surface that won’t allow your head to sink more were you to press over this surface with your head. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fatah]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then, he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.