My father-in-law, who’s over 75 years old, is afflicted with the following ailments: He has heart disease since 2 years and he also got an angioplasty. He also has problems with his knees and the doctor suggested he should undergo an operation on both of his knees. For this reason he wasn’t able to go to the masjid for 1 year and he performed Salah (prayer) at home on a chair. He also fell a few times while attempting to go to the masjid, otherwise, before this problem he used to always go to the masjid to perform his Salah. Now he has been having some problems urinating for some time. Most of the time, urine comes out unintentionally, sometimes during Salah, while going to the bathroom or while sitting. For this reason he has to constantly change his clothes and repeat his Salah. This usually happens for about 2 or 3 times during one Salah, because whenever he gets up from sitting he feels urine dripping out. Even outside of Salah a little urine drips out. My question is: in such a case can he combine his prayers (جمع بین الصلوات)? If he can, then what is the method for combining one’s prayers? Can he perform all of his prayers with one wuzu (ablution)? Or does he have to repeat his wuzu for each prayer if his wuzu is broken while he is in salah due to the dripping of urine? Will he have to change his clothes every time? Because due to his weakness, it is difficult for him to keep changing his clothes and redoing his wuzu.
الجواب حامدا و مصلیا
In the mentioned situation, if the questioner’s father-in-law does not find enough time, due to his ailments, in which he can perform even the Farzh (compulsory) Salah in a state of purity, then as per Shari’ah, he is considered as one who is excused (معذور). The law of one who is excused is that, for example: If he has to perform Zuhr prayer, he will wait until the end of its time. If during this period he does not find enough time in which he is able to perform Salah in a state of purity, then at the end of the time of Zuhr, just before the time of Asr enters, he will perform wuzu and then perform only the Farzh of the Zuhr prayer. Afterwards, for performing the Asr prayer, it is not necessary for him to wait until the ending of the time. In fact, when the time of Asr enters, he will perform wuzu, then perform the Asr prayer. During this time, if any urine drips out his wuzu will not be broken. He will continue doing this for the Maghrib and Isha prayers (i.e. perform a separate wuzu for each prayer, and during a prayer time, as long as another invalidator of wuzu does not occur, he will not have to repeatedly perform wuzu due to the reoccurrence the mentioned ailment). However, if this sickness does not occur even once during the entire time of any prayer, then as per Shari’ah, he will not be considered anymore as one who is excused. It is very important to understand this issue very will and practice upon it. Furthermore, it is not necessary to repeatedly change one’s clothes while one is excused. However, it is not permissible for the questioner’s father-in-law to combine two or more prayers in one time due to his sickness. This must be avoided.
And Allah knows best.