or if he delays payment to his creditor when he is able to fulfill it, and then prays. Our argument is that prayer is an act of worship performed in a forbidden manner, therefore it is not valid, like the prayer and fasting of a menstruating woman. This is because the prohibition necessitates the sinfulness of the action, its avoidance, and incurrence of blame by committing it; so how can one be obedient while being disobedient, compliant while performing what is forbidden to him, or drawing near to Allah by that which distances him? Indeed, his movements (39) of standing, bowing, and prostrating are voluntary acts through which he is disobedient and which are forbidden to him. As for the one who sees a fire, he is not forbidden from prayer; rather, he is commanded to extinguish the fire, save the drowning person, and perform prayer, except that one of these is more urgent than the other. However, in our issue, the acts of prayer themselves are forbidden. Once this is established, there is no difference between his usurping the land itself by taking it, or claiming its ownership, and his usurping its benefits—such as by claiming it is leased while acting unjustly, or taking possession of it to reside in it for a period, or extending a balcony (40) or an arcade in a place where it is not permissible for him, or usurping a mount and praying upon it, or a ship and praying in it, or a plank and placing it in a ship to pray upon it. The ruling for all of this in prayer is the same as the ruling for a house, as we have clarified.

Section: Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The Friday prayer is to be performed in a usurped location. He means if the mosque or a part of it is usurped, prayer in it is valid, because the Friday prayer is tied to a specific site. If the Imam performs it in a usurped place and the people refrain from praying there, the Friday prayer is missed for them; and if some of them refrain, the Friday prayer is missed for them. For this reason, it was permitted to pray behind the Khawarij and the innovators. Likewise, it is valid on roads and in mosque courtyards due to the necessity of performing it in these places. The same applies to the Eid and funeral prayers.

Section: Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I dislike praying in a place of destruction (khasf), for it is a place upon which Allah’s wrath has descended. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to his companions on the day they passed by Al-Hijr (41): "Do not