263 – Imrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet ﷺ told me, ‘Pray standing; if you cannot, then seated; and if you cannot, then on your side.’” Related by al-Bukhārī (1).

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– janb: the verbal noun janb carries several meanings, among them a person’s flank—the area beneath the armpit down to the waist. Its plurals are junūb and ajnāb. This is the sense intended here.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – The report sets out the successive levels for an ill person’s obligatory prayer. He must stand if able, for standing is a pillar of the prescribed prayer, even if he has to lean on a cane, a wall, and the like. If he cannot stand, or finds it too difficult, he must pray seated—even if propped up or reclining—and perform bowing and prostration as long as he can. If he cannot sit, or sitting is too hard, he prays on his side, the right side being preferable. Should he pray lying on his back with his feet toward the qiblah, it is valid. If he cannot manage even that, he gestures with his head, lowering it more for prostration than for bowing to distinguish the two pillars, since prostration is lower than bowing.
2 – One does not move from a higher posture to a lesser one unless genuinely unable to maintain the former or it entails hardship; the permission to shift is tied to the absence of ability.
3 – The level of hardship that permits performing the obligatory prayer while seated is the hardship that causes