1258 - 'Abbas al-'Anbari narrated to us, he said: Khalid ibn Makhlad narrated to us, he said: Sulayman ibn Bilal narrated to us, he said: Ja'far ibn Muhammad narrated to me, he said: I heard al-Qasim ibn Muhammad say: Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If the leader prays sitting, then pray sitting." He said: "The people were amazed at the truthfulness of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)."

Chapter: How does the sick person pray?

• I asked Abu 'Abd Allah, I said: Is it not that the sick person's legs should be towards the Qiblah, and his face towards the Qiblah? He said: "Yes." I said: Is it not that he says the takbir and recites and the like? He said: "Yes, if he is unable to bow (ruku')."

• And I heard Ishaq say: "The sick person prays standing; if he cannot [pray] standing, then [he prays] sitting, and he prostrates on the ground. If he cannot prostrate on the ground, he makes a gesture (ima'), making the prostration lower than the bowing. If he cannot make a gesture:

• He prays on his side, and this is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i.

• And some of them said: He prays on his back, with his legs towards the Qiblah and his face facing the Qiblah; among them is Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, and this is more beloved to us."

He said: "If he is unable - regarding that - to recite the Qur'an, he leaves the recitation as well, and mentions Allah therein to the extent he is able, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made that a substitute for the healthy person who cannot master the recitation; for the rule of [the prayer] is only by bowing, prostrating, and the remembrance of Allah. So, when it was possible for the sick person to perform some of that, but he did not do so, he must repeat it if he is aware [of the ruling]. Do you not see that there is a consensus among the scholars regarding the fearful person who is confronted by the enemy, that he does not abandon the remembrance of Allah if he cannot bow, prostrate, and so on? Likewise is the sick person."