Question: If the Sunnahs of Fajr are not offered before the congregation, can they be prayed afterwards? Kindly provide an answer.
Answer: If a person’s Fajr Sunnahs are missed due to some reason, that is, he was unable to offer them on time, he may offer them after performing the Fajr prayer. This is clear from the tacit approval (taqrir) of the Messenger ﷺ.
The Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ are of three types:
➊ Qawl (saying)
➋ Fi’l (action)
➌ Taqrir (tacit approval)
The meaning of taqrir is that an act was performed in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ and he did not forbid it. The fact that he did not forbid it is evidence that he approved of it. Otherwise, the Prophet ﷺ could not have approved of a wrong action.
The Companion of the Messenger, Qais (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates:
أنه صلى مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الصبح ولم يكن ركع الركعتين قبل الفجر فلما سلم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قام فركع ركعتي الفجر و رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ينظر اليه فلم ينكر ذلك عليه)
“He prayed the morning prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and had not offered the two Sunnah rak’ahs before the Fajr prayer. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concluded the salam, he stood up and offered the two Sunnah rak’ahs of Fajr. The Prophet ﷺ was looking at him, and he did not object to that.”
From this Hadith it is known that if a person’s Fajr Sunnahs are missed, he may offer them after the Fajr prayer.
Allamah Abul Hasan Sindhi Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
يَدُلُّ عَلَي الْاِذْنِ فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ لِمَنْ فَاتَهُمَا ذٰلِكَ
“This Hadith indicates permission to offer, after the Fajr prayer, the two rak’ahs for the one who missed them before Fajr.”
Allamah Ubaidullah Rahmani Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْمَلِكِ : سُكُوْتُهُ يَدُلُّ عَلٰي قَضَاءِ سُنَّةِ الصُّبْحِ بَعْدَ فَرْضِهِ لِمَنْ لَّمْ يُصَلِّهَا قَبْلَهُ وَبِهِ قَالَ الشَّافِعِيُّ
“Ibn al-Malik said: ‘The Prophet ﷺ’s silence on this indicates that it is permissible for the one who did not offer the morning Sunnahs before the obligatory prayer to make them up after offering the obligatory prayer, and this is also the view of Imam al-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him).'”
Shaikh Husain bin Mahmud al-Zaidani in the commentary “al-Mafatih” on the Mishkat, Shaikh Ali bin Salahuddin in “Manhal al-Yanabi’ Sharh al-Masabih”, and Allamah Zayni in “Sharh al-Masabih” have also written similarly.
Our Hanafi brothers say that after offering the obligatory prayer, one cannot offer the Sunnahs until sunrise. As evidence for this, they present the following Hadith narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet ﷺ said:
Man lam yusalli rak’atai al-fajr fal-yusalliha ba’da ma tatlu’a al-shams
“Whoever did not pray the two rak’ahs of Fajr should pray them after the sun rises.”
First: This narration is weak. In its chain is Qatadah bin Di’amah al-Sadusi, a mudallis narrator, and this narration is mu’an’an, therefore it is weak.
Second: According to Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him), whose followers are the Hanafis, if the Fajr Sunnahs are missed, one should offer them neither after the obligatory prayers nor after sunrise.
The author of al-Hidayah wrote:
و اذا فاتته ركعتا الفجر لا يقضيها قبل طلوع الشمس لانه يبقٰي نفلا مطلقا و هو مكروةبعد الصبح و لا بعد ارتفاعها عند ابي حنيفة و ابي يوسف
“When a person misses the two rak’ahs of Fajr, he should not make them up before the sun rises, because they have now become mutlaq (general) nafl, and offering nafl after the morning prayer is makruh absolutely. Nor should he offer them even after the sun has risen. This is the position of Imam Abu Hanifah and Qadi Abu Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on them).”
From the explanation of the author of al-Hidayah it is known that, in Hanafi fiqh according to the two Shaikhs, the one whose morning Sunnahs are missed should neither offer them after the morning prayer nor after sunrise. That is, their position contradicts both the authentic Hadith and the weak Hadith. Because according to the authentic Hadith, the missed Fajr Sunnahs may be made up after offering the Fajr prayer, as mentioned above, and among the Hadiths that prohibit prayer absolutely after the Fajr prayer, these two rak’ahs are qualified by the authentic Hadith. Therefore there is no makruh in offering them.
