The Jumu‘ah prayer for a handicapped individual on crutches

15-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am handicapped and cannot move alone without using crutches. Am I obliged to attend the congregational and Jumu‘ah prayers? Thanks.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

One is excused from attending the Jumu‘ah prayer if he suffers from a severe disease which prevents him from attending the prayer or causes him excessive hardship. However, it seems that you are able to move with the crutches. So if this is not excessively difficult for you, either due to the movement itself or because the mosque is far, then you are not permitted to abandon the Jumu‘ah prayer. Otherwise, you are excused under Sharee‘ah. However, it is better and greater in reward to strive to attend the prayers in the mosque.  

Allaah Knows best.