Oversleeping and offering Salah beyond its due time
Question:
“My elder brother performs Salah (Prayer) regularly in congregation, except for `Asr (Afternoon) Prayer, which he offers only an hour after its time is due. I have advised him a lot, but he argues that he is tired and wants to sleep; what should I do with him? Another brother also regularly observes all the Salahs, except for Fajr (Dawn) Prayer, because he sleeps heavily. But when we return after offering Salah, we wake him up by all means, and he gets up and offers Salah, all praise is due to Allah. Is he sinful for this? What is the ruling on frequently oversleeping beyond sunrise and missing Fajr Prayer?”
Answer:
“Congregational Salah at the Masjid (mosque) is obligatory, and at that time a male Muslim should not be preoccupied with anything other than performing it. It should be his first priority. If he gives himself free rein after work, and so rests, eats, oversleeps, and misses Salah because of this, this is negligence on his part. A Muslim should be alert, and keep away from Waswasah (insinuating thoughts) cast by Satan, who makes obedience burdensome and hard for him and incites him to be lazy and inactive until he misses congregational Salah. May Allah save us.
You, dear brother, should diligently preserve `Asr Prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Anyone who observes the two Salahs performed at cool hours (`Asr and Fajr Prayers) will enter Paradise.”[1] Your brother who sleeps through Fajr Prayer until the sun rises, commits a grave sin. A group of scholars hold the view that a person who delays Salah beyond its due time with no Shar`y (Islamically lawful) excuse should not make up for it, having committed a grave error and Kufr (disbelief). May Allah save us. Habitual oversleeping is not an acceptable excuse for abandoning or missing Salah. This is wrong conduct. Anyone who oversleeps the congregational Salah in spite of being able to wake up and offer it is, undoubtedly, sinful and wrong. As for your brother who sleeps heavily and attempts to wake him up usually fail due to him being a heavy sleeper, and Allah knows him to be so, and he needs a long time to wake up and does not hear the alarm clock, I hope Allah (Exalted be He) will excuse him. But still he must exert his utmost efforts and Allah will help him. It was reported that Safwan ibn Mu`attal was a heavy sleeper, to the extent that the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them) moved from the place they were staying at and proceeded onward with their journey, yet he did not feel their departure and only the sun's heat awakened him. This indicates that his sleeping was an inherent characteristic, and a person is excused for what is out of his control. Allah (Exalted be He) says:
{Allâh burdens not a person beyond his scope.} [Surah al-Baqarah 2:286]”
Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh
Source: www.alifta.net - Fatwas by His Eminence Shaykh `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh
[1] Al-Bukhari, Book on times of Prayer, no. 549; Muslim, Book on Masjids and places for Salah, no. 635; Ahmad, vol. 4, p. 80; and Al-Darimy, Book on Salah, no. 1425.
“My elder brother performs Salah (Prayer) regularly in congregation, except for `Asr (Afternoon) Prayer, which he offers only an hour after its time is due. I have advised him a lot, but he argues that he is tired and wants to sleep; what should I do with him? Another brother also regularly observes all the Salahs, except for Fajr (Dawn) Prayer, because he sleeps heavily. But when we return after offering Salah, we wake him up by all means, and he gets up and offers Salah, all praise is due to Allah. Is he sinful for this? What is the ruling on frequently oversleeping beyond sunrise and missing Fajr Prayer?”
Answer:
“Congregational Salah at the Masjid (mosque) is obligatory, and at that time a male Muslim should not be preoccupied with anything other than performing it. It should be his first priority. If he gives himself free rein after work, and so rests, eats, oversleeps, and misses Salah because of this, this is negligence on his part. A Muslim should be alert, and keep away from Waswasah (insinuating thoughts) cast by Satan, who makes obedience burdensome and hard for him and incites him to be lazy and inactive until he misses congregational Salah. May Allah save us.
You, dear brother, should diligently preserve `Asr Prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Anyone who observes the two Salahs performed at cool hours (`Asr and Fajr Prayers) will enter Paradise.”[1] Your brother who sleeps through Fajr Prayer until the sun rises, commits a grave sin. A group of scholars hold the view that a person who delays Salah beyond its due time with no Shar`y (Islamically lawful) excuse should not make up for it, having committed a grave error and Kufr (disbelief). May Allah save us. Habitual oversleeping is not an acceptable excuse for abandoning or missing Salah. This is wrong conduct. Anyone who oversleeps the congregational Salah in spite of being able to wake up and offer it is, undoubtedly, sinful and wrong. As for your brother who sleeps heavily and attempts to wake him up usually fail due to him being a heavy sleeper, and Allah knows him to be so, and he needs a long time to wake up and does not hear the alarm clock, I hope Allah (Exalted be He) will excuse him. But still he must exert his utmost efforts and Allah will help him. It was reported that Safwan ibn Mu`attal was a heavy sleeper, to the extent that the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them) moved from the place they were staying at and proceeded onward with their journey, yet he did not feel their departure and only the sun's heat awakened him. This indicates that his sleeping was an inherent characteristic, and a person is excused for what is out of his control. Allah (Exalted be He) says:
{Allâh burdens not a person beyond his scope.} [Surah al-Baqarah 2:286]”
Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh
Source: www.alifta.net - Fatwas by His Eminence Shaykh `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh
[1] Al-Bukhari, Book on times of Prayer, no. 549; Muslim, Book on Masjids and places for Salah, no. 635; Ahmad, vol. 4, p. 80; and Al-Darimy, Book on Salah, no. 1425.