أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الطِّهْرَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ فِي الطَّيَّارَةِ، فَقَالَ: اسْتَقْبِلِ الْقِبْلَةَ وَكَبِّرْ، ثُمَّ اسْتَقْبِلْ حَيْثُ تَسْتَقْبِلُ الطَّيَّارَةُ، وَلَا تُصَلِّ فِيهَا مَكْتُوبَةً إِلَّا وَأَنْتَ خَائِفٌ، قُلْتُ: أُصَلِّي فِيهَا جَالِسًا؟ قَالَ: تُصَلِّي قَائِمًا أَبَدًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَقَاعِدًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَى جَنْبِكَ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَبِالْإِيمَاءِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَبِالنِّيَّةِ، وَهَذَا كَقَوْلِ الْحَدَّادِ لِفَتَاهُ: مُتْ وَأَنْتَ نَافِخٌ!
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Tehrani informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about performing prayer on an airplane, so he said: “Turn toward the Qiblah and say, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ then turn toward whichever direction the airplane turns, and do not perform any obligatory prayer on it unless you are afraid (that you will miss it)!” I said: “Should I perform prayer while sitting on it?” He said: “You always perform prayer while standing, and if you cannot, while sitting, and if you cannot, while on your side, and if you cannot, with a gesture, and if you cannot, with intention, and this is like the words of the blacksmith (in the well-known proverb) who said to his apprentice: ‘Die and blow!’”
Explanation of the saying:
What he, may God protect him, referred to about the words of the blacksmith to his apprentice is a well-known Persian proverb; they say: «بمير و بدم», and by that they mean, “Do what you can,” and they have a story about it that need not be mentioned. To read the explanation of the saying, see Q&A 74.
