Qiblah in flight: when and in which direction to offer my prayers
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Asalamalikoum Brother Burhan,
I shall be leaving
by air from
Thank you.
Khuda Hafiz
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Qiblah in flight
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and
ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and
whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness
that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
When one is in the air, or when traveling
in a moving vehicle, the believers
should turn towards the Qiblah and start the prayer
by declaring the ‘Takbeer’ and then continue the
prayer in whatever direction the vehicle is moving. But if one is unable to determine the Qiblah,
especially from the air,
the scholars in Islam are of the opinion that one may pray in whatever
direction the vehicle is moving.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood
Hadith 1221 Narrated
b yAnas ibn Malik
When the Apostle of
Allah (saws) was on a journey and wished to say voluntary prayer, he made his
she-camel face the qiblah and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), then prayed in whatever
direction his mount made his face.
And if one sincerely tries, but still cannot
determine the direction of the Qiblah, he may use his best judgment for the
direction of the Qiblah and perform his prayer, and believe that East and West, all belong to Allah Subhanah!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 115: To Allah belong the East and the West;
whithersoever ye turn there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is All-Pervading All-Knowing.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 142: The fools among the people will say: "What
hath turned them from the Qiblah to which they were
used?" Say: To Allah belong both East and West; He guideth
whom He will to a Way that is straight.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan