Fatwa ID: 01537

Answered by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question:

My friend fell asleep after 9am very tired and he missed zuhr,asr and maghrib as the days are short in winter in the uk he woke up at isha around half 6 he was fasting a kafaaraah fast it was the 7th day he is concerned does him missing three prayers due to sleep mean he must restart the kaffarah again or no keeping in mind he was not intentionally trying to miss salah he kept drifting in and out of sleep and felt tired and went back to bed he did make these prayers up must he restart the kafaarah all over again?

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Missing Salah is considered to be a grave sin.

The Prophet of Allah said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives it up is a disbeliever.” (Sunan Nasaai p.81 v.1, Sunan Tirmizi & Musnad Ahmad)

One should make arrangements prior to falling asleep to wake up for the respective Salahs, whether by setting the alarm clock or by telling someone from his family to wake him up.

However, in spite of making the relevant arrangements one could not wake up then it is not considered a sin as the Prophet of Allah has said, “There is no breach of duty in sleep, breach of duty is in wakefulness. If one of you forgets or remains asleep let him pray it when he remembers it. (Sunan Majah p.51 v.1)

Regarding your question, missing Salah does not invalidate your Kaffarah, so therefore, there is no need to re-start the Kaffarah.

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham