Accidentally falling asleep over the witr prayer
| Fatwa #1078 | Category: Prayer (Salaat) | Country: Canada | Date: 26th February 2024 |
| Fatwa #1078 | Date: 26th February 2024 |
| Category: Prayer (Salaat) | |
| Country: Canada | |
Question
Salamu’alaikum dear mufti
I intended on praying witr before sleeping, but my brother was in the washroom and he would take around 20 minutes usually and my mother was doing the dishes and that would take 20 minutes so I couldn’t do wudu until one of them were done. So I decided I’d put my head down without the intention of going to sleep, and just wanted to rest a little since I was a little sick and was extremely tired. When I had put my head down for only a few minutes I had accidentally fell asleep and ended up oversleeping Til fajr. I fell asleep swiftly without realizing it at all. I usually pray the witr before sleeping but failed to do so this time. I wanted to ask if this is sinful, what I did?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said,[1]
عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ: ذَكَرُوا لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَوْمَهُمْ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي النَّوْمِ تَفْرِيطٌ، إِنَّمَا التَّفْرِيطُ فِي اليَقَظَةِ، فَإِذَا نَسِيَ أَحَدُكُمْ صَلَاةً، أَوْ نَامَ عَنْهَا، فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا
Translation: “There is no negligence in sleep. Negligence is in wakefulness. So if one of you forgets to perform Salah, or sleeps away (and misses it) then he should make perform it when he remembers.” (Tirmidhi-177)
This hadith tells us that certain things over which we have no control will not result in sin. In the enquired situation, you had the full intent of performing your witr salah before sleeping, but other factors came about and you slept instead. Insha-Allah, The Most Merciful Allah will not take us to task for such mishaps.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
سنن الترمذي ت شاكر (1/ 334) [1]
177 – حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ البُنَانِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَبَاحٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ: ذَكَرُوا لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَوْمَهُمْ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ، فَقَالَ: «إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي النَّوْمِ تَفْرِيطٌ، إِنَّمَا التَّفْرِيطُ فِي اليَقَظَةِ، فَإِذَا نَسِيَ أَحَدُكُمْ صَلَاةً، أَوْ نَامَ عَنْهَا، فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا»، وَفِي البَابِ عَنْ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، وَأَبِي مَرْيَمَ، وَعِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ، وَجُبَيْرِ بْنِ مُطْعِمٍ، وَأَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ، وَأَبِي سَعِيدٍ، وَعَمْرِو بْنِ أُمَيَّةَ الضَّمْرِيِّ، وَذِي مِخْبَرٍ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ أَخِي النَّجَاشِيِّ،: [ص:335] «وَحَدِيثُ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ» وَقَدْ اخْتَلَفَ أَهْلُ العِلْمِ فِي الرَّجُلِ يَنَامُ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ، أَوْ يَنْسَاهَا فَيَسْتَيْقِظُ، أَوْ يَذْكُرُ وَهُوَ فِي غَيْرِ وَقْتِ صَلَاةٍ، عِنْدَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ، أَوْ عِنْدَ غُرُوبِهَا، فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: يُصَلِّيهَا إِذَا اسْتَيْقَظَ أَوْ ذَكَرَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ، أَوْ عِنْدَ غُرُوبِهَا، وَهُوَ قَوْلُ أَحْمَدَ، وَإِسْحَاقَ، وَالشَّافِعِيِّ، وَمَالِكٍ، وقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: لَا يُصَلِّي حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ أَوْ تَغْرُبَ “