Is It Permissible for Me to Stay Up Late to Finish My Homework?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it permissible for me to stay up late to finish my homework if I’m very likely to fall asleep during the Fajr prayer as a result?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

If sleeping late will likely lead to your inability to wake up for Fajr prayer, it is obligatory for you to sleep early.

Arranging One’s Time

It is unlikely that you cannot perform your school work at another time. This may entail sacrificing certain activities during the day. If there is no time during the day, try the following suggestion:

Try to sleep early, wake up for the Fajr prayer, sit after Fajr, and complete whatever work is still unfinished.

Alternative Solution

Another suggestion would be to take a nap during the day, if possible. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and many of the righteous took mid-day naps, which assisted them in waking up before Fajr prayer and giving them the energy to stay up later for worship.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.