How do I pray with a broken leg or in a cast?
Yes, you pray sitting or on a chair, and you make the bowing and prostration with small movements of your upper body. If you can stand with the help of crutches or a wall, you stand for that part. Your prayer is valid, you don't need to wait until the cast comes off, and Allah only asks what you can do.
The Prophet's ﷺ guidance
A Companion named Imran ibn Husain was ill and asked the Prophet ﷺ how to pray. He said: pray standing; if you cannot, then sitting; and if you cannot, then lying on your side (Sahih al-Bukhari 1117). The idea is to keep your prayer and adapt your body to it, not to drop the prayer.
Step by step
- Standing: if you can stand with support, do so for the takbir and al-Fatiha. When the Prophet ﷺ grew older and heavier, he put up a post at his place of prayer and leaned on it (Sunan Abi Dawud 948). So leaning on a wall, a chair or crutches is fine if you can't stand without help.
- If you can't stand: sit on a chair or the floor and recite from there. Sit however is most comfortable, with the injured leg stretched out or raised if you need to.
- Ruku (bowing): lean your upper body forward a little, with your hands on your knees.
- Sujud (prostration): lean forward further than you did for ruku. You don't need to touch your forehead to the floor, and you don't need a table or pillow for it.
- Sitting parts: stay seated as you are for the tashahhud and the salam.
If you can stand and bow normally but can't get down to the floor, stand and bow as usual, then sit on a chair and lean forward for each prostration. The same ideas apply to a hospital bed. See How do I pray in hospital?
Wudu with a cast
You don't have to get a cast wet. You wash the parts you can and wipe once over the cast. See Can I make wudu with a cast or bandage? If you can't move to the sink, ask a family member to bring water in a jug, or use tayammum if water would harm you.
Facing the qibla and following the doctor
Face the qibla as best you can, but if your leg or bed makes it hard to turn, face the direction you can manage. Follow your doctor's advice about movement. If a position may delay your healing, choose a gentler one. You may feel you are falling behind, but the Prophet ﷺ said that when someone falls ill or travels, they are given the reward of the good deeds they used to do when healthy (Sahih al-Bukhari 2996). So your normal prayer routine is still being recorded for you while you recover.
At the mosque, many places have chairs for exactly this. See How do I pray on a chair at the mosque?
- Stand if you can with support; otherwise sit on a chair or the floor.
- Lean forward for ruku and further for sujud; no table or pillow is needed.
- Wipe over the cast for wudu; don't get it wet.
- Follow your doctor's advice and keep praying on time.
People also ask
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