Nasai

619. Commentary: «وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِذِكْرِي» [طه20 : 14] One of its meanings is: “Establish the prayer for My remembrance.” Another translation has been mentioned in the hadith. In one recitation, it is also read as «للذكري». Its meaning is: when you remember (the prayer), or its meaning is: for the purpose of obtaining admonition.

Hadith Commentary:

Benefits and Issues:
Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) made this claim with great confidence that you (all) may sleep; I will wake you up. It appears that he did not say "in sha Allah" (if Allah wills). Therefore, just as sleep overcame the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and his companions, it also overcame him. When the sun had risen and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was the first to awaken, he felt regret over the missed prayer. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked Bilal (radi Allahu anhu), "What did you do?" He excused himself, saying that he did not do so intentionally. It was as Allah willed. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) then ordered that they leave the land which had caused this heedlessness, and after moving forward, he first made arrangements for the prayer. For this reason, one should try to perform a missed (qada) prayer as soon as possible. As much as possible, one should avoid places that cause a person to become heedless of religious matters.

Commentary:

➊ In the view of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, prayer (salah) held such importance that even during travel, at times of fatigue and while resting, his concern was that the prayer should not be missed. Therefore, he assigned a regular duty to Bilal radi Allahu anhu so that the Fajr prayer would be performed on time.

➋ Bilal radi Allahu anhu made every effort to fulfill his responsibilities. One aspect was that he spent the remaining night in prayer so that he would not fall asleep, and then, as the time for the call to prayer (adhan) approached, he sat facing the east with full alertness so that as soon as true dawn appeared, he could give the adhan. From this, it is understood that whoever is entrusted with a communal task should strive to fulfill it in the best possible manner.

➌ The leader of any nation or group should, if there is any disruption in a communal task, question the person responsible so that others may avoid negligence in their duties.

➍ If it is known that the disruption in the task was not due to the responsible person's carelessness or deliberate negligence, then his excuse should be accepted and he should not be further reprimanded.

➎ The wisdom in moving the caravan from that place and stopping a little further could be that laziness would be dispelled and all individuals would become alert and active, so that the effects of sleepiness and lethargy would not remain during the prayer.

➏ A missed (qada) prayer can also be performed in congregation.

➐ There are two recitations (qira'at) of the verse mentioned in the hadith, and both are correct. The first recitation, which is prevalent among us, is:
﴿وَاَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِذکْري﴾
Its meaning is that the real purpose of prayer is the remembrance of Allah; therefore, it is necessary to perform the prayer with full attention. The second recitation,
﴿وَاَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِلذِّکْرٰي﴾
serves as evidence for the issue under discussion. In this case, its meaning can also be "for admonition," or "for remembrance," or "at the time of remembrance." In the hadith, this last meaning is intended. Based on this, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam explained the ruling that if, for any reason, a person forgets to perform the prayer, then as soon as he remembers, he should perform it immediately; it is not appropriate to delay further without reason.