Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam Alaikum,

Can we continue our prayer (salah), when we are sleepy (slumber) in our prayer.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can one pray while sleepy

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Intentionally missing or delaying the offering of any of the five obligatory prayers of the day and night due to sleep or slumber is not a valid excuse….for the five obligatory prayers have to be performed at their appointed times.

Respected brother, we assume that you wish to clarify whether one should continue the offering of their optional supererogatory prayers while in the state of slumber……

Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) reports that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "When one of you gets up during the night for (optional) prayers and his Qur'anic recital becomes confused to the extent that he does not know what he says, he should lie down (go to sleep)."

Related by Muslim.

Hadrat Anas ibn Malik (r.a.) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saws) entered the masjid and saw a rope stretching between two posts. He (saws) asked: "What is this?" The people told him that it was for Zainab [bint Jahsh] who, when she became tired or weary, held it (to keep standing for the prayer). The Prophet (saws) said: "Remove the rope. You should pray as long as you feel active, and when you get tired or weary, you should lie down to rest (go to sleep)."

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan