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Fatwa CenterA sick person standing alone on the left side of the Imaam
Question
If a sick person cannot move from his place, is it permissible for the Imaam to stand on his right side?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
It is recommended that a lone follower should stand on the right side of the Imaam as it was reported from the Hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas 
. Ibn ‘Abdel Barr 
said in At-Tamheed: “It is a recommended and agreed upon Sunnah that, if the Imaam stands to pray and there is only one person who will follow him, then the latter should stand on the right side of the former."
If the follower is sick and cannot move, then the Imaam should stand on his left side so that the rulings can be fulfilled. This can be proven by the incident in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood on the left side of Abu Bakr as ‘Aa’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came and sat on the left side of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was praying while standing and the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was praying while sitting. Abu Bakr was following the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” [Al-Bukhari]
If the Imaam does not find a place on the left side of the sick person then there is no blame on him to stand on his right side because this is just a recommended matter.
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