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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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What is the ruling on one who does not pray the Fajr prayer in its time because he does not get up for it?

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Question:
Most of the time, I do not pray the Fajr prayer in its time because I do not get up for it. However, on the days I do get up, I combine them, and sometimes I pray it at a late time. Is there any blame on me for this? Please guide us, may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. To proceed: Prayer is the second pillar of the pillars of Islam, it is the pillar of Islam, and it is the first of a servant's deeds for which he will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection. If it is accepted, the rest of his deeds will be accepted, and if it is rejected, the rest of his deeds will be rejected. It is the distinguishing factor between the Muslim and the disbeliever, and between the believer and the hypocrite. Allah the Exalted and Majestic has prescribed it at specific times, and it is not permissible to perform it at any other time. Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
[An-Nisa 4:103]
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified its times, so it is not permissible for anyone to deviate from them. What the questioner mentioned, that she sleeps through the Fajr prayer and does not pray it at its time, is a great error. Continuous sleep and habit are not an excuse. It is not permissible for a person to make it a habit to sleep and leave the Fajr prayer at its time, then pray it at a time other than its time. The servant is not given a choice in this matter; rather, it is obligatory for him to pray every prayer at its time. However, if a person gets up for the Fajr prayer and strives to do so, and has exerted the means to wake up, but sleep overcomes him at times, then he is excused and prays it when he wakes up. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Who forgetsمن نسى
a prayer or sleeps through it, let him pray it when he remembers it or wakes up. There is no expiation for it except that.صلاة أو نام عنها فليصلها إذا ذكرها أو استيقن لا كفارة لها إلا ذلك،
As for the one who makes it a habit to sleep with negligence and continues to sleep through the Fajr prayer intentionally and without caring, saying, "I will pray it whenever I get up," this is not permissible, and the prayer is not valid with such an attitude.
Then, the questioner indicated that she combines them. This is a mistake, because the Fajr prayer is not combined with any other prayer; it is not combined, but rather it is prayed in its time. The prayer that is permissible to combine with another is the Zuhr prayer with the 'Asr prayer, and the Maghrib prayer with the 'Isha' prayer, in known excuses such as the excuse of travel, the excuse of illness, and the excuse of rain, and severe cold regarding the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers. These are conditions that permit combining. As for anything other than that, and also these are specific prayers that are permissible to combine. As for the prayer of the stone [likely a transcription error for "the prayer of the time" or similar, but translating literally based on text "صلاة الحجر"], it is not permissible to combine it with any other, but rather it must be performed in its time. So it is obligatory upon this questioner and upon Muslims in general to repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness, and to maintain the prayers in their specified times. I mean those who are negligent in this prayer or others. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: "Woe to the praying ones"
[But] who are heedless of their prayer -الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ
[Al-Ma'un 107:5]
. The meaning is those who delay the prayer from its time, so Allah promised them woe. And Allah the Exalted said:
(59) But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil - (60) Except those who repentفَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا إِلَّا مَن تَابَ
[Maryam 19:59-60]
. And neglecting the prayer, as the exegetes explained, is delaying it from its time, and the meaning is not abandoning it entirely, because the one who abandons it entirely is a disbeliever. Rather, the warning is for the Muslim who delays the prayer from its times. Allah warned them with woe and warned them with the unseen, and both are words of severe punishment. So the danger is great. It is not permissible to be negligent in this matter. If the Muslim does not stand up the pillar of his religion, how will his religion be straight? How can he be a Muslim while he is neglecting the prayer and being careless about it? O Allah, guide us and all Muslims. May Allah reward you with good.
Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ماحكم من لا يصلي صلاة الفجر في وقتها لأنه لا يقوم لها؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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