Fatwa ID: 03359

Answered by: Shaykh Umer Khan

Question

Assalamulaikum

Is working a night shift or early morning shift an excuse for missing tarawih?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Answer:

In the Ḥanafī madhhab, praying tarāwīḥ in Ramaḍān is considered a sunnah
mu'akkadah, i.e. an emphasized sunnah[1]. Missing it without a valid reason would be considered sinful. You should, therefore, try your best to pray all of it, or if not possible, as much of it as you are able to. However, if your work shifts are in conflict with tarāwīḥ prayer timings and they do not leave you with sufficient time to pray it, then you will have an excuse for missing some of it or all of it. You will not, however, be excused from the farḍ prayers of ʻIshā' and Fajr, nor the witr prayer.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Shaykh Umer Khan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham