Can I Pray Sitting if Standing Increases Waswasa and Doubts About Wudu?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Does praying while sitting down remain valid if standing increases doubts about wudu being broken and worsens waswasa, whereas sitting significantly reduces these issues?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Despite the difficulty, the cure for waswasa is to go against it, not to give in to it.

It is not permissible to pray obligatory or necessary prayers sitting without a valid excuse. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

Waswasa is not a valid excuse. Although it may seem helpful, it is just a bandaid, not a cure.

Advice

Pray standing and ignore any and all suspicions of your wudu breaking. Only act on that which you are absolutely certain of. Certainty demands evidence and proof, not just a hunch.

This will prove difficult, but if you do this consistently and do not give into the waswasa, it will go away In sha’ Allah.

Please see this reader on Waswasa as well.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.