We seek advice for the youth who spend their vacation in the wilderness regarding their negligence of obligatory duties, abandoning of prayers, and committing of forbidden acts such as playing cards.

The questioner : This is regarding the topic of the vacation. The questioner says: "Your Eminence, it is the custom of some people, indeed many, especially the youth, to spend the mid-year vacation in the wilderness. However, certain things occur among some of them. We ask for your guidance. First: staying up late, which is at the expense of the Fajr prayer, so they do not pray it until the morning, or perhaps they pray it with the Zuhr. Second: the time is spent playing cards, which may be for money, and using instruments of amusement such as the 'ud and drum, accompanied by smoke and the like. Third: the laxity of fathers and their excessive trust in their young sons, taking them out with those who are not their equals in age and culture?"

The Shaykh : We have referred to all three of these things, except for the issue of delaying the prayer beyond its time. I say, in addition to what has been mentioned previously: if he delays it beyond its time intentionally, then Allah will not accept it from him, even if he prays it a thousand times. Those who sleep and know that they will not wake up until after the sun has risen are those who intentionally delay it beyond its time. Their prayer is not accepted from them at all. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions): meaning it is rejected from him. And the one who intentionally delays the prayer beyond its time has done an act for which there is no command from Allah and His Messenger. Someone might say: Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions) say: meaning or I wake up? Or did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions) once, while traveling, stop in the last part of the night and say to Bilal: meaning watch it for us? But Bilal slept and did not wake up until after the sun had risen. We said: Yes, we said, indeed this happened. But was this his custom? And did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions) not take the measures that lead to waking up? Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions) not ask Bilal to watch for the Fajr? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions) said: It was not intentional. But as for those who intentionally sleep in the last part of the night, knowing that they will not wake up until after the sun has risen, where is their excuse? Yes, if it were assumed that they did everything possible to wake up, such as setting alarms and the like, but it did not happen, meaning they did not wake up, then when they wake up, they pray.
Yes, we remain with playing cards. If playing cards is for a stake, it is forbidden because it is a form of gambling. It does not matter if the stake is coins, clothes, pain through beating or otherwise, or imprisonment; anything for a stake is forbidden. But if it is not for a stake, it is undoubtedly a waste of time and a cause of dispute in some cases, if one of them overcomes the other, it leads to a dispute. And our Shaykh, Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him), said: