Question 54 : Assalaamu ‘alaykum Sheikhs,

Question about prayer for injured/elderly people.

Say someone is injured or old and cannot do sujood but can stand and sit.

Can they sit for the whole prayer?

Answer:  Assalamualaikum Br Ismail Ibn Ahmed

Performing the prayer exactly as the Prophet ﷺ prayed is very important. But Allah, out of His Mercy, requires from us only what we are able to do.

So standing in the prayer is a pillar of the prayer and can only left if there is a genuine reason. Since you mentioned in your question that the person is able to stand, then he must stand, and praying while sitting would not be permissible for him..

As for sujud, if an elderly person can stand and do ruku but not go down for sujud, then so long as that is the case, it should be permissible to do sujud sitting on chair and bending forward as a modified sajdah while doing the rest of the prayer as usual.

Allah knows best