Fatwa by: Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (حفظه الله)
Question:
If someone misses the ʿIshāʾ prayer due to sleep and remembers it only after the Fajr prayer, should it be prayed together with ʿIshāʾ or immediately upon remembering?
Answer:
In an authentic ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, let him pray it when he remembers it. There is no other expiation for it except this.”
(Abū Dāwūd in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, with minor variations)
Then he ﷺ recited the verse:
وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
(20:14)
“And establish the prayer for My remembrance.”
Based on this, there is no difference between the ʿIshāʾ prayer and any other prayer. Whenever a person wakes up from sleep or remembers a missed prayer, he should perform it immediately and should not delay it until the time of another prayer—whether that time is considered disliked or not. However, if he fears missing the current prayer, he should first offer the present prayer and then perform the missed one.
And Allah knows best.
Question:
If someone misses the ʿIshāʾ prayer due to sleep and remembers it only after the Fajr prayer, should it be prayed together with ʿIshāʾ or immediately upon remembering?
Answer:
In an authentic ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, let him pray it when he remembers it. There is no other expiation for it except this.”
(Abū Dāwūd in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, with minor variations)
Then he ﷺ recited the verse:
وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
(20:14)
“And establish the prayer for My remembrance.”
Based on this, there is no difference between the ʿIshāʾ prayer and any other prayer. Whenever a person wakes up from sleep or remembers a missed prayer, he should perform it immediately and should not delay it until the time of another prayer—whether that time is considered disliked or not. However, if he fears missing the current prayer, he should first offer the present prayer and then perform the missed one.
And Allah knows best.
