Performing prayer in Qatar airways flight prohibited
Last Friday I was flying from Doha to Cochin in a Qatar airways flight in the early morning. After serving the meals , I was trying to perform my Fajr prayer( morning prayer) in the open area near to the cabin crews space in the back side. One air hostess approached me and said it is not allowed here. I said I will not take more than 3 minutes, and i am not disturbing any one. She said its the emergency door and and not permitted. She advised me to pray in my seat. I said flight is flying oposit to Qibla and its not possible. She refused again, I said , I used to pray in other Qatar airways flights and no one stopped me. She said i am the supervisor of this the flight and i cannot allow you to pray here.
To avoid a seen i agreed with her and went to my seat. There were some space to pray and i put the carpet and prepared to start my prayer. She chased me and stopped again.
I know not obeying a staff staff inside an aircraft is an offence and i might be in trouble. So I agreed and went back to my seat with great sorrow and regret. This was my first Fajr prayer i am losing for many years.
Is it a law in a flight ? Any one having any experience ? if it is true its a very sad one and should be avoided. Once i was flying from Kuwait to Qatar in the same career in economy class and the cabin crew allowed me to pray int he business class . I don't know what difference now ?
Asalamu alaykom wa rahmato Allahi wa barakatuh
I advise all the brothers here to fear Allah and stop speaking without knowledge in the religion of Allah, specifically acchabachha and the others who have made claims that they did not back with evidences and go against the authentic evidences
For example, he says: “when traveling or flying, the rules of facing the Qiblah does not apply”
It seems that you have confused the exception of a traveler praying a VOLUNTARY prayer while riding with an OBLIGATORY prayer. Please provide your evidences!
1. https://sunnah.com/bukhari:400
Also regarding standing:
The prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was asked about the prayer on a boat: he صلى الله عليه و سلم said (roughly): pray on it standing except if you fear drowning
[ad-daraqutni: saheeh according to al-haakim and adh-dhahabi agreed]
-Shaykh al-albani رحمه الله adds a benefit on this in his book ((صفة صلاة النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم)) [description of the prophets prayer صلى الله عليه و سلم:
“And the ruling of the prayer on a plane is like the prayer on a boat, that he should pray standing if he is able, otherwise he prays sitting and makes head gestures for the bowing and prostration, as we mentioned before” (3rd edition of new print, page 69 [arabic version])
I am not saying that it is not allowed to pray sitting on a plane, Allah knows best, you can review what the scholars said about that (like above). What I am saying is dont give rulings based on your thoughts and opinions. I would like to see your evidence that facing the qiblah is dropped when traveling
May Allah guide us to the truth
Give me equal space, please .......... You may give your comments to counter me ........ please communicate with me ........... be fair with me , Am I different than others ? ......... But many won't agree with you .
Mods, Let me clear my point, you are confusing Accha for the past one month by removing my explanations ......
Accha, Again there are missing links. You can't deny reading news about wedding ceremonies inside air planes at 35000 feet ...... Now I am opposing you ...... why should anybody do it ........ You will find scores of weddings those took place in the sky .....
Here’s a way to take your wedding to new heights: Pick a venue that’s at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. That’s what Alaska Airlines flight attendant Kristy Stratton and her now-husband Jim Larsen did. The couple got married mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane going from Los Angeles to Seattle on February 19. The reason for the venue: To grant Stratton’s mom, Billie Jo, three wishes. Her mom is currently fighting Stage 4 lung cancer, and she wanted to see where her daughter works and lives in Seattle, as well as see her get married. Stratton and Larsen realized they could accomplish all that with one in-flight wedding.
Everyone may be able to understand the folly of that person but YOU. It is important for you to support blindly an act that is totally unacceptable by sane-thinking persons such as the airline staff, the air hostess and others. What the person was asking for not possible, was not sensible, was not practicable and not safe. That is why he was stopped and asked to go back to his seat. You are unaware of the rules of the religion, unaware of safety rules within a passenger airliner and want to just argue for the sake of arguing and writing for the sake of writing.
MM: Personally, I feel that it's better & safe to offer salah in one's seat in an airplane to avoid hindrance to other passengers. Moreover, if the airplane experiences turbulence when one is standing and praying, you might hurt yourself or even others.
Shuaibh, You admit that what that gentle man was asking was possible & genuine and is practicable & safe ............ Hope hostess & Accha understand it .........
achchabachcha: I feel you shouldn't call the attempt of a person to offer salah the traditional way as stupid. Like britexpat & the OP have mentioned that some airlines like Saudi Airlines and Qatar Airways allow it. I have seen people praying in Delta Airlines and Lufthansa as well.
Dear keeppurathu: First and foremost, when travelling in an airline you have to comply with their rules and regulations as they are in place for our safety. If your request to offer salah using a prayer mat was denied by the airline staff then you could've offered it in your seat like most do and not missed the Fajr salah. Allah s.w.t is all knowing and recognizes your niyat. The concept of Qibla does not apply while travelling in an airplane like acchabachcha has pointed out.
One person's ignorance or conduct does not malign his/her religion.
MM: So opposing an unsafe act by an air hostess on board a flight was not a "safe way to do each and every task?" Your "proven, tested & tried.....successful methods" may be appeal to some people in YOUR TEAM and get appreciated by them as is usually done, but not to many who use their thinking powers correctly.
Accha, There is a safe way to do each & every task ..... few days back I gave a proven, tested & tried ..... successful method's example to support my views but unfortunately due to YOUR TEAM 's objection my comment was removed ......... What's the guarantee that my comment won't be taken off again ? Your people has spoiled the friendly environment here & your people now suffer .......... you are being deprived of the knowledge & info ...............
MM: Sorry, but you have now once again begun posting your "philosophical" ideas. That is because you also do not know the rules. First of all, there was absolutely no need for the passenger to place his prayer mat on the floor when he could have prayed on his seat, which he eventually did. Secondly, there was no way by which he could have been allowed to block the Emergency Exit of the plane. The objection of the air hostess to this act was correct. Please don't give lessons on how airlines should behave with their GUESTS when someone on board is carrying out a stupid act which involved the safety of other passengers.
MM: Sorry, but you have now once again begun posting your "philosophical" ideas. That is because you also do not know the rules. First of all, there was absolutely no need for the passenger to place his prayer mat on the floor when he could have prayed on his seat, which he eventually did. Secondly, there was no way by which he could have been allowed to block the Emergency Exit of the plane. The objection of the air hostess to this act was correct. Please don't give lessons on how airlines should behave with their GUESTS when someone on board is carrying out a stupid act which involved the safety of other passengers.
Mufti, For some it may be like the other natural body functions like heart function & breathing .......... Do we pick & choose if we could put a brake on our heart to stop at some places ? ........ NO , Our hearts runs automatic , our breathing system is auto also ...... so why can't you digest it if some body prays in the natural way ?
Accha, On certain air lines / routes if a passenger asks for a veg meals is refused very bluntly ..... where as when a drunkard demands another peg ....... the sisters obey him ......... ..... you see ....... the communication at the same wave length is very smooth ............
If he feels airlines discriminated him by not allowing him to lay the mat and pray in open space, then he should choose to go by ship next time. He can lay his mat and pray as many times as he wants. Some people have the habit of showing-off piety in public.
Only a Hostess who should have been at the respected passenger's level could have seen the point , the necessity , the essential item i. e. space ...... !
It's not her fault for not being at the equal platform with her guest who has paid for the space .......
Accha, Exactly, The HUGE GAP will remain my pal ...... What is actually his basic requirement & we call it AN ISSUE ...... ...........
acchabaccha: The OP says - "This was my first Fajr prayer i am losing for many years" .. To me it shows that he is keen to observe his daily prayers to please his Lord, but ignorant of some rules...
MM: What are you talking about? This is not a question of "spirituality" and "worldly tilt." This is simply a question of someone not knowing the rules and due to his lack of proper knowledge, creating an issue on board a flight.
Airlines have to respect their paying GUESTS ......... understand & value the guests important requirements & comforts ........... it's a basic thing one looks for after paying days in advance ..............
Brit: I disagree with you on this. A person who is t-h-a-t religious should be fully aware of the rules. This rule of offering prayers while travelling is a very common one and known to almost every Muslim.
Different people are at different levels of the spirituality . ............. so a person with worldly tilt will be far away from understanding what a pure soul needs ............ All of you are perfectly RIGHT at your level ...........
I don't think its stupidity.. I believe that he felt that he MUST perform his obligatory prayer as a good muslim ... He just didn't realise that there were options available to him ...
WT: He does not know the rules and regulations of the religion and has simply shown how stupid he was not just in his actions but also by going ahead and placing his stupid act at a website. I am compelled to use the word "stupid" as that is what his action deserves calling. I have already pointed that out in my previous post. Having said that, the post does not allow for anyone to roll out his guns and begin firing his volleys at a religion, especially anyone who also is not aware of the rules.
The person who posted this claims to be a Muslim, accha. Why don't you tell him to shut up instead?
The person who posted this has very little knowledge of the rules of the religion Islam.This is clear from his statement "flight is flying opposit and it is not possible." He has simply succeeded in giving people like WT and the likes an opportunity to ridicule Islam. While flying or travelling, the rules of facing the Qibla does not apply. All one needs to do is to make the "niyat" and begin praying and do not need a prayer mat or even space for praying. The prayer could be offered from the seat itself. Take for example people travelling for Hajj when the flight is full of would be Hajjis. They offer their prayers right on their seat. They do not line up inside the plane. Also, during the flight, the direction of the plane keeps changing and at no point of time the plane may be facing the Qibla continuously. The religion is very clear on this and their is no rigidity whatsoever. The air hostess was absolutely right in telling you to move when you blocked the emergency exit. Please learn about the religion before you go about making yourself a showpiece of "holiness."
He could have prayed on his seat like others do. There is no need to occupy places near the toilet or emergency window. This rigidity in religion actually backfires us.
WT: He should have prayed during his lunch or tea breaks ... No need to ask for special treatment
I remember a case in my country when a Turkish Muslim working for the Ford Motor Company wanted to have breaks for prayer time. They just told him that he had to chose. Ho chose to work without interruption.
I don't think that QA will do anything because they see it as a security / safety issue.....
Also, remember that one should be at peace when contemplating prayer.. Doing so in a hurry or in such an environment does not offer any real value
Not everyone knows what you are doing. There might be some ignorant tourist that might panic if he see you. Just my thought.
WT: A valid point, but I doubt that it would be the case on a flight from Doha to cochin
It is understandable that in times of Islamophobia the stewardess is afraid that an "Allahu Akbar" might frighten other passengers. Too many times these words have been used in mean attacks on innocent people.
You can pray in your seat. Why would you block the emergency door. If your prayer becomes hassle for others, i am sorry then your prayer got no meaning. You should know that you can pray in advance if you are travelling. And there is no restriction regarding Qibla in aircraft.
Saudia allocated space wthin the aircraft for prayer... Other airlines don't.,
From my perspective, the air hostess was correct in asking you not to pray in areas where you could be a hindrance..
Surely, you can wait till you arrive at your destination... Remember that Allah is all knowing and merciful....
Yeah, you shouldn't fly. Aircraft are an invention of unbelievers. Avoid them like the pestilence!
Keep, She is mistaken, forgive her.