Question
If a person, due to excessive tiredness, falls asleep at night at the time of the Isha prayer and the prayer is missed, should he offer the missed prayer as a qada, or should he offer the complete prayer?
Answer
Sleeping before the Isha prayer has been prohibited in the hadith. However, if a person accidentally falls asleep and the Isha prayer is missed, then when he wakes up he should offer the prayer immediately. The hadith mentions this as follows.
Once the Fajr prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was missed in the same way, as he remained asleep, and then when the sun had risen, he offered the complete prayer in congregation, meaning he offered the Sunnah prayers along with the obligatory prayer. From this hadith it becomes clear that when a prayer is missed, the complete prayer should be offered, and the Sunnah prayers are also to be performed.
“Once the Fajr prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was missed in the same way, so after the sun rose he offered the complete prayer in congregation.”
Summary
◄ If the Isha prayer is missed, then when one wakes up, one should offer the prayer immediately.
◄ Offer the missed prayer in full, that is, perform both the obligatory and the Sunnah prayers, as the hadith mentions regarding the Fajr prayer.
