OBLIGATION TO PRAY FOR MEDICAL STAFF USED PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

Abstract

One of the conditions for prayer is purification, either by ablution or tayammum, but there are situations where people cannot purify due to an emergency. Among them are medical staff who wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to treat Covid-19 patients. This article compares the opinions of the Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Syāfi‘ī, and Ḥanbalī schools of thought about praying without purification due to an emergency. This study is a normative legal research that uses a comparative approach and is a type of literature research. This study finds that the Mālikī school of thought considers purification as the condition of obligatory prayer, so there is no obligation to pray for those hindered from purification. As for other schools of thought, purification is a condition for the validity of praying, so prayer is still obligatory even without ablution or tayammum. The author concludes that praying is still an obligation for medical staff who wear PPE. However, he must act according to the situation he experienced because he can join two prayers at one time.