Can I Pray Ishraq If My Wudu Breaks Involuntarily?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

After fajr prayer, if I remain seated but have one minute of sleep or if my wudu breaks, can I perform wudu and come back and pray Ishraq?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The validity of the Ishraq prayer is not conditioned on one remaining seated after Fajr with wudu. The Ishraq prayer can be prayed, and one will be rewarded for it despite not remaining seated. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Complete Reward

However, the total reward of the Ishraq prayer, as mentioned by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) in the following Hadith, is conditioned by remaining seated.

He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever prayer the Fajr prayer in congregation sits remembering Allah until the sunrises, then pray two units of prayer they have the reward of a Hajj and an ‘Umrah.” [Tirmidhi]

The Virtue of the Ishraq/Duha prayer

However, this does not mean one does not receive a reward for the Ishraq prayer.

Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Each morning a child of Adam rises charity is due for every joint. His greeting, the one he meets will ‘Salam’ is charity. His commanding the good is charity. His stopping the evil is charity. His removing something harmful from the pathway is charity. His fulfilling of his physical desires with his spouse is charity. Two units of prayer at midday suffices all of that.” [Abu Dawud]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever sits in their place of prayer when people disperse after performing the Fajr prayer – till they pray two units of midday (duha) prayer not saying therein anything but good – their mistakes are forgiven even if more than the foam of the sea.” [Abu Dawud]

Summary

Performing the Ishraq prayer is virtuous and rewarding, as shown by the above narrations. However, the ideal situation is to remain seated and focused on Allah Most High till sunrise, then pray two units of prayer.

One should avoid vain speech or actions which are not beneficial. However, dosing off or relieving oneself is not in vain.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then 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 stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest 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 Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.