"They told the Prophet (ﷺ) that they had slept and missed the prayer. He said: 'There is no negligence when one sleeps, rather negligence is when one is awake. If any one of you forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, let him pray it when he remembers it.'"
The Book of the Times (of Prayer) - Sunan an-Nasa'i 615
They told the Prophet (ﷺ) that they had slept and missed the prayer. He said: 'There is no negligence when one sleeps, rather negligence is when one is awake. If any one of you forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, let him pray it when he remembers it.'
Commentary on the Hadith
This noble hadith establishes a fundamental principle in Islamic jurisprudence regarding missed prayers. The Prophet (ﷺ) distinguishes between intentional negligence while awake and unintentional omission due to sleep, demonstrating Allah's mercy and the facilitative nature of this religion.
The phrase "There is no negligence when one sleeps" indicates that sleeping persons are not held accountable for missed obligations in the same manner as those awake, as sleep is a natural state beyond complete control. True negligence occurs when one consciously disregards religious duties while capable of fulfilling them.
The command to "pray it when he remembers it" establishes the ruling of qada (making up missed prayers) for both forgetfulness and sleep. This applies to all obligatory prayers and demonstrates that the obligation remains until fulfilled, regardless of the passage of time.
Scholars have derived from this that one should immediately perform the missed prayer upon remembering, without delaying for the current prayer time unless the time is so constrained that the current prayer might be missed. The wisdom behind this ruling preserves the connection between the servant and Allah while accommodating human nature.
Juridical Rulings Derived
Sleep and forgetfulness are valid excuses for missing prayer times, exempting one from sin.
The obligation to pray remains until fulfilled, requiring qada (make-up) prayer.
One should perform the missed prayer immediately upon remembrance without unnecessary delay.
The order of missed prayers should be maintained when making up multiple prayers where possible.
This ruling applies equally to all five daily obligatory prayers without distinction.