I hurt my knee, how do I pray?

Wa alykum as-salaam,

First, I’d like to wish you a speedy recovery, insha Allah, and I hope that you come back stronger and better, insha Allah.

From the get-go, I must ask you to stop praying that way. You just had knee surgery, you’re not supposed to be folding your knee under you, and believe me, God knows this.

God explicitly states this, and underlines that any religious activity you must do, in any state, can be done within the means that you find yourself. In The Qur’an it says that God

“has laid no hardship on you in [anything that pertains to] religion,” [22:78] Muhammad Asad

So, God is not going to punish you for not being able to preform your prayers in the normal way because of anything that may prevent you from doing so. For God has said in The Qur’an:

“man has been created weak” [4:28] Muhammad Asad

So, don’t worry, God knows that you’re going to get hurt and God is not going to punish you because of it. That wouldn’t really go with the whole “Al-Rahman Al-Raheem” (Most Gracious, Most Merciful) thing, y’know?

However, more specifically, there is a widely quoted Hadith, found in Bukhari, in which Imran bin Hussain said:

“I had hemorrhoids so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about praying. He said: “Pray standing up; if you cannot, then pray sitting down; and if you cannot, then pray (lying) on your side.” [Bukhari]

It’s pretty self-explanatory, and there are various Hadith that describe similar situations. God doesn’t need you to hurt your knee again, just so you pray normally. God is way too chill for that, so, sit down or stand up, whichever is most comfortable for you, and just pray that way.

I have prayed standing and sitting before because of injuries from sports, so there is really nothing wrong with not going into sujud normally because of pain.

Insha Allah, I hope that this answers your question, and if you, or anyone else has a question on this, or any other topic, please do not hesitate to ask me.