Assalaamu alaykum, Shaykh. I work as a security guard in America in a construction area. The problem is that when the time for prayer comes, I do not find any place to prostrate as it is all filled with rocks and gravel and mudd. So is this a good reason to pray on a chair while still performing the other pillars of the prayer that I am able to do, such as standing and bowing, and so on. In addition to this, since guards are not allowed to pray on duty, I pray when no one is around, but that takes a lot from my Khushoo’ (humble submissiveness) because I am always worried about somebody coming. Is my prayer valid in such situation? May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

If in the place of prostration, there is dry soil and rocks on which you can prostrate directly or by putting a cloth or a mat on it and the like, then you must prostrate on it, and it is not sufficient to pray on a chair. The Maaliki scholar An-Nafraawi said in his book Al-Fawaakih ad-Dawaani, “Mudd does not have the same ruling as dry land on which one can prostrate, as one must dismount (from his riding animal) and pray on it by prostrating on the ground.”

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen was asked, “If a worshiper prostrates and puts his turban down as a protection between him and the ground, what is the ruling on his prayer?”

He replied:

“The prayer of that worshiper is valid, but he should not use his turban as a protection between him and the ground except in cases of need, such as when the ground is very hard, or there are stones that may hurt him, or thorns. In that case, there is nothing wrong with protecting himself from the ground with something that is attached to him, such as his turban or clothing, because Anas ibn Maalik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'We used to pray with the Prophet when it was very hot, and if one of us could not put his forehead on the ground, he would spread out his garment and prostrate on it.'”

If there is water and mud in the place of prostration and you fear that your clothes will get dirty if you prostrate on it and you cannot put something on the ground that protects you from it, then you may pray standing and not on a chair, then you may bow and rise from it, then you point to the place of prostration with your forehead; Ibn Qudaamah said, “If one is in water and mud, he nods with his head. In brief, if he is in mud and rain and he could not prostrate on the ground except by getting his clothes dirty with mud and getting wet with water, then he may pray on his riding animal. He nods his head for bowing and prostration, and if he dismounted and prayed standing on his feet, he nods for prostration as well, and he is not obliged to prostrate on the ground.” For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 85247.

With regard to the lack of Khushoo’ in prayer and fear that someone sees you when you are praying, then this does not invalidate your prayer, because according to the view of the majority of the scholars, Khushoo’ is not a condition for the validity of the prayer. The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia reads:

“If the worshiper does not observe Khushoo’ in his prayer, then according to the view of the majority of the scholars, his prayer is valid because the Prophet did not order the man who was playing with his beard to repeat the prayer although the hadeeth indicates that he was not observing the prayer with Khushoo’, and because the prayer does not become invalid by the action of the heart, even if it lasts long; however, he committed something disliked, and he does not deserve the reward, as the Prophet said, 'The person will not be rewarded for his prayer except for what he had been attentive to thereof.'”

Please refer to fatwa 88316 on the permissibility of combining two prayers if one is afraid that his living will be affected by not combining the prayers, like some craftsmen.

Allah knows best.