Is a Person Excused from Prayer If It Causes Severe Mental Harm?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is a person excused from prayer if praying causes severe mental harm, such as anxiety or trauma?

Answer

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

This issue should be taken step by step.

The Central Importance of Salah

Salah is the most important act of worship after iman. Iman is not an outward act of worship on the limbs, but rather an act of worship in the heart.

Once a person has iman, the first physical act is to declare the shahada, giving a verbal utterance to what exists in the heart, affirming with the tongue what exists in the heart.

Immediately thereafter, there is nothing more important in the life of that Muslim than their relationship with their salah, five times a day, every single day.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“The difference between the believer and the non-believer, or faith and disbelief, is salah.”

Salah is also repeatedly commanded in the Quran, not merely to pray, but to establish the prayer.

Are They Excused Due to Anxiety or Trauma?

The answer is: no, they are not excused.

Prayer will not be dropped on an ongoing basis and simply written off because of an affliction a person is facing. A person cannot cancel prayer because they are experiencing anxiety around the prayer or mental difficulty around the prayer.

Rather, the anxiety and mental difficulty must be addressed.

Seeking Treatment and Support

Medical professionals, psychologists, and psychiatrists should be consulted. Scholars of the soul and the heart should also be consulted to address the underlying issue.

Temporary Severe States and Acting Within Capacity

If a person is in a temporary situation in which they are in a severe state, one that is currently preventing them from performing the current prayer, and they are going through extreme difficulty, they will be treated according to their actual capacity while they seek treatment and stabilization.

Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.

In such cases, the duty remains, but it is temporarily lifted if the person is in a severe state. However, Salah cannot be written off permanently because of a temporary severe state.

The illness should be treated as best as possible, and a solution should be found. But the solution is not to cancel the prayer.

Adjusting the Prayer When the Usual Form Is Not Possible

In fiqh, if a situation makes it impossible for a person to stand and pray, they should sit. If it is impossible to sit and pray, then they should lie down, and so forth.

A way should be found for the person to pray if praying in the usual way is impossible at that moment.

Medication When Needed

If medication is required to overcome the severe challenge a person is going through, then, under supervised Islamic supervision as well as medical supervision, they may engage in whatever medication they need. However, the prayer remains fundamentally important.

Praying the Minimal Valid Form in Severe Cases

In severe cases, the person should pray in the minimal valid form for as long as they are able.

For example, if the person is still undergoing treatment and says that being in the prayer causes them anxiety, then the prayer may be stripped down to its essentials for that person due to medical need.

They should focus on:

• The opening takbir
• Surat al-Fatiha
• The various postures
• The tashahhud
• The number of obligatory (fard) rak‘as

As long as the person has a moment of stillness in each position, the prayer should be valid, insha’Allah

This is not the type of prayer one wants to offer Allah Most High as a permanent practice. However, the purpose is to save the brother or sister from incurring sin due to neglecting their prayer.

If there is a way to bring them down to the bare minimum to avoid punishment, that should be done.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.