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Combining prayers because of school

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari, SunniPath Academy Teacher

My school has just made a new rule that people can’t be in the hallways ever unless they’re going to lunch/classes. Therefore, I have no place to pray in school.

Is it permissible for me to combine Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers because of the extreme difficulty I face in school and the threats I may receive should I do salat?

I know that our school (Hanafi) doesn’t allow the shortening of prayers, but the only place I can pray in private in my school is in the bathroom. The teachers won’t let me pray and neither will the principle (I have a VERY strong feeling they won’t let me). If I pray in the hallways (classrooms are locked when nobody is in them), I will receive threats and will be mocked at.

Knowing this, is it permissible for me to, as soon as I come home from school (at 3:00 PM EST, 1 hour after Dhuhr) to combine Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers and for me to pray all the Sunnah rakat of Dhuhr prayer? JazakAllahu Khair

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.

Dear Brother,

I pray this message finds you well.

If you are able to reach home before Dhuhr prayer goes out, then it may be advisable to pray at home, given the climate at your school.
However, if you will not get home in time to pray Dhuhr, then you are obligated to pray in school. From what I could understand of your situation, you get home while Asr is still in. If this is the case, then there is no reason to combine Dhuhr and Asr, since you can reasonably pray Asr at home. Additionally, it would be impermissible to shorten the prayer since you are not traveling.
If you are in a public school in the United States, you are constitutionally entitled to freedom of religion. The teachers and administrators do not have any right to prevent you from praying. If you are being prevented from exercising your constitutional rights to pray on school property, then you need to take the matter up with the school board. I would definitely suggest organizing a meeting with your parents, teacher, and principal. All you’re asking for is a quiet corner in some room, either a classroom or the library, and about 10 minutes or so to pray. This should not be a problem. If it is, then you might want to contact CAIR, www.cair-net.org, for advice.

May Allah Ta’ala soften the hearts of the teacher and principal, and faciliate a solution for you.

And Allah knows best.

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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