Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī said: “As for the sick person’s praying only with his eyes and heart, no sound proof establishes it. The purport of the ḥadith indicates that praying on one’s side while nodding is the last obligatory level, and the school’s view is the more cautious position.”

Decision of the Islamic Fiqh Academy Concerning the Adoption of a Concession

In the name of Allah, Lord of the worlds; and may blessings and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and companions.

Decision no. 74/1/D/8 regarding: The adoption of a concession and its ruling.

The Council of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, convened at its eighth conference session in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, from 1–7 Muḥarram 1414 AH (corresponding to 21–27 June 1993 CE),

after reviewing the papers submitted to the Academy on the subject “Adopting a Concession and Its Ruling,” and after listening to the discussions held on it, resolved as follows:

1 – A sharʿī rukhsah (legal concession) is a ruling legislated because of an excuse, as a relief for those who are legally accountable, while the underlying cause of the original ruling remains. There is no dispute over the legitimacy of availing oneself of such concessions when their causes exist, provided that the reasons are verified, one restricts oneself to the specific situations for which they were prescribed, and the established sharʿī guidelines for employing them are observed.

2 – What is meant by fiqh concessions are the juristic ijtihād-based rulings that permit something which other ijtihāds prohibit. Availing oneself of the concessions of the jurists—i.e., choosing the lighter of their opinions—is permissible, subject to the guidelines set out in Section 4.

3 – Concessions in matters of public concern are treated in the same way as original juristic issues, if they