Stopping Namaz in Emergency

Stopping Namaz in Cases of Necessity

If I am praying and someone knocks at the door, and there is no one else in the house, what should I do ?

If a prayer is naafil (supererogatory), there is more room for manoeuvre, and it is o.k. to stop praying in order to find out who is at the door.

But in the case of a fard (obligatory) prayer, it is not permissible to stop it unless there is something important which one is afraid of missing.

If it is possible to alert someone else, by saying “Subhan-Allaah” out loud in the case of men and clapping in the case of women, so that the person at the door will realize that the person in the house is busy praying, that will do away with any need to stop praying.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever is alarmed by anything whilst praying, let men say ‘Subhan-Allaah’ and let women clap.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 1234; Muslim, 421).

If it is possible to let the person who is at the door realize that the person inside the house is praying, by clapping in the case of women and saying ‘Subhan-Allaah’ in the case of men, whilst still praying, this will save you from having to stop the prayer.

If that will not work, because one is too far away from the door or the person outside will not be able to hear, then it is o.k. to stop the prayer if necessary, especially if it is a naafil prayer. But in the case of an obligatory prayer, if it is something important or necessary, and there is the fear of missing it, it is also o.k. to stop the prayer, and to repeat it from the beginning.

http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=26230

The baby started to choke whilst her mother was praying and she stoped her prayer to save the child What you did was not haraam and was not a sin;

in fact it was obligatory (waajib) upon you, because this comes under the heading of saving lives which is encouraged in Islam.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind …” (al-Maaidah 5:32)

It was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas, from Murrah al-Hamadaani, from Abd-Allaah and from a number of the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah concerning the Tafseer of this aayah:

“…and if anyone saved a life means, saved someone from death, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind in the eyes of the person whose life was saved.” (Tafseer al-Tabari, 6/199)

Saving the life of a person whose life is protected in shareeah is obligatory (waajib) on whoever is able to do so. Saving a life is one of the five essentials which Islam came to protect (they are, life, sanity, wealth, religion and lineage). With regard to the prayer, you have to repeat it after you have helped the child.

http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=7698&ln=eng

Helping someone who faints during Jumuah prayers

This depends on what has happened to this worshipper.

If waiting until you have finished the prayer will CAUSE him harm, then you should STOP your prayer and help him.

If waiting until you finish will NOT cause him harm then you can help him after you finish the prayer.

Fatwa of Shaykh Abd-Allaah al-Ghadyaan.

In such cases you should act according to what you believe is most likely to be the case, with regard to whether waiting until the prayer is finished will cause harm or not.

Stopping ones prayer in cases of fire alarm

If the accident is major and serious, then it is OK to stop ones prayer; if it is a minor incident that can be dealt with after completing the prayer, then it is not permissible.

The scholars said: it is obligatory to stop ones prayer in order to save a negligent person from a fatal accident.

For example, if you are praying and you see a snake approaching a man who is sitting down and has not noticed it. If it is heading for him, you have to stop your prayer and tell him so that he will not be bitten, possibly fatally. Or if you see a blind man walking in front of you whilst you are praying, and he is heading towards a well, and you are afraid that he may fall into it, then you have to stop your prayer and save him from that fatal accident, even if this means stopping your prayer.

The same applies in cases of fire, etc.

But if the siren goes off for a minor matter which can be dealt with after completing the prayer and it will not be too late if you complete the prayer first, then it is not permissible to stop your prayer before you have completed it, because this accident can be dealt with after completing the prayer, without anyone coming to further harm.