How do I calculate salat whilst travelling to the other side of the world?

[Tabassum07]

Assalamualaikum

If a person travels from India to America, how do they calculate the number of salaat to be prayed?

Technically, if say, today, Sunday, I start my journey, I will reach my destination 30 hours later, but it is still Sunday when I reach there.

How do I know how many prayers I've missed due to the time zone difference? And how many I would need to make up?

 

[ahmed_indian]

1. u have to try to pray in the plane. boeing 747 have place to pray. know the direction of qiblah thru compass/hostess if possible. stand in prayer if possible. if not, u can pray in ur seat but make qadhaa when u reach USA.

2. u will be making qasr salah (shortened ones). u can combine them also (zuhr+asr and maghrib+isha)

3. u will be praying according to the present time of ur flight. u can guess the time by looking thru the window.

4. as the time will be lagging behind in USA, u have to pray those salaah. eg. u prayed maghrib in plane but when maghrib takes place in USA, u have to read that. this is wht i know and i could be wrong.

Allah knows best.

 

[Tabassum07]

Jazakallah Khair brother.

It's a little complicated. If my flight starts after Isha local time, by the time I reach Europe, it won't be day anywhere, so I'll pray Fajr at the Amsterdam airport.

Then from there to US, throughout the nine hours of the flight, everywhere I pass through will be Zuhr time. I'll be reaching at Zuhr local time. So what to do? Is that the only prayers I have to worry about, or do I have to make up a full day's worth later on??

 

[thariq2005]

As salamu 'alaikkum sister, if you do not land by sunrise, you can always ask the air hostess/host for a place where you can pray, and if that is not possible, in shaAllah you can pray on your seat itself, in shaAllah, but I advise you to try your best to find a place to stand and pray, if not in shaAllah you have an excuse to sit and pray(and this applies only if you fear that the plane will land past sunrise). As for travelling throughout the time of dhuhr, you can pray it after you have landed and pray dhuhr at the time of 'Asr by combining it with 'Asr. Also remember you can shorten prayer down to 2 rakaats except for Maghrib. Here is a fatwa which is kinda suitable for your situation...

If I am travelling in an airplane and the time for prayer comes, is it permissible for me to pray in the airplane or not?

Praise be to Allaah.

If the time for prayer comes and the plane is still flying, and you are afraid that the time for prayer will end before the plane lands in an airport, then the scholars are agreed that it is obligatory to pray as best as one is able, bowing, prostrating and facing the qiblah as much as you can. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can”

[al-Taghaabun 64:16]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If I command you to do a thing, then do as much of it as you are able.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1337).

But if you know that the plane will land before the time for prayer ends and there will be enough time to do the prayer (after it lands), or if the prayer is one of those that may be joined to another, such as Zuhr which may be joined to ‘Asr, or Maghrib which may be joined to ‘Isha, or it is known that the plane will land before the time for the second prayer ends and that there will be enough time to offer both prayers, then the majority of scholars say that it is permissible to offer the prayers on board the airplane, because it is obligatory to offer the prayers when the time for the prayer begins. But some later Maaliki scholars said that prayer on board the airplane is not valid, because one of the conditions of prayer being valid is that the prayer should be offered on the ground, or on something which is in contact with the ground, such as a vehicle or ship, for example. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The earth has been made a place of prayer for me and a means of purification.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Tayammum, 335; Muslim in al-Masaajid, 521).

Fataawa Islamiyyah, al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/227

About facing the Qiblah in an airplane...

When traveling via airplane which direction should one pray? Assuming that due to conditions on the plane the proper direction cannot be ascertained.

Praise be to Allaah.

You have to face the direction of the Qiblah when you are praying an obligatory prayer, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“so turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (at Makkah). And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction” [al-Baqarah 2:144].

You could ask the crew to find out which direction the Qiblah is in, and make the most of the opportunity, once the plane has reached its altitude and settled in its course, to pray standing facing the Qiblah. If that is not possible, and you can delay the prayer until the plane lands, without delaying it beyond the allotted time, so that you can pray standing and facing the Qiblah on the ground, then you can do that. If this is not possible because you fear that the time for that prayer will end, then pray as best you can in the plane, and your prayer will be valid. Allaah does not burden any soul with more than it is able to bear. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Hope it helps sister... Wa salamu 'alaikkum