Imam Ahmad—and, according to the well-known view, Mālik—maintained that an obligatory prayer performed inside the Kaʿba or on its roof is not valid. They argued from Allah’s words, “Wherever you may be, turn your faces toward it” (Q 2:150), noting that a worshipper inside the Kaʿba, or standing on its roof, cannot orient himself toward it. Supererogatory prayers, however, are based on leniency, so they are permissible both inside the Kaʿba and atop it.
They also relied on the report from Ibn ʿUmar that the Prophet ﷺ forbade praying in seven places:
- the refuse dump,
- the slaughterhouse,
- the cemetery,
- the middle of the road,
- the public bathhouse,
- the camel enclosures,
- and on the roof of the House of Allah (i.e., the Kaʿba).
This narration was recorded by al-Tirmidhi.
By contrast, the two imams Abū Ḥanīfa and al-Shāfiʿī held that the obligatory prayer is valid inside the Kaʿba, on its roof, and likewise in the Hijr. Their proof is the Prophet’s own prayer inside it. A ruling established for voluntary prayer applies equally to obligatory prayer unless a specific evidence differentiates between them—and no such evidence exists. Even if the verse cited were accepted as invalidating the obligatory prayer inside the Kaʿba, it would also invalidate the voluntary prayer.
Regarding the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar, even if it were authentic it would apply to both obligatory and voluntary prayers; but its chain is weak. It is transmitted by al-Tirmidhi, and al-Bukhārī said, “It contains a narrator who has been abandoned.”
They further argued from the hadith, “The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification,” and the sacred Kaʿba is, above all places on earth, most entitled to that ruling. Allah knows best.