Can I Pray Fajr Including its Sunna After Sunrise if I Wake Up Late?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Question

I sometimes wake up after sunrise, and I am not able to pray fajr prayer on time.

Is it okay if I pray it after sunrise? Can I also make up the two cycles of sunna with it?

Answer

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

Yes, you can make up the sunna of Fajr—with the obligatory Fajr prayer—if missed. However, this can only be done if you make it up the same day before Zuhr time enters. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The Importance of Taking the Means to Pray On Time

Just as the obligatory prayer is a key duty, it is a believer’s duty to take the means to be able to fulfill one’s duty.

After all, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tells us about the prayer: “Whoever carefully guards them will find them to be great light, proof, and means of salvation on the Day of Resurrection.” [Ahmad; Darimi; Bayhaqi]

Means that Facilitate Waking Up

Among the means of getting up are:

One. Ensuring one sleeps early enough
Two. Sleeping on wudu and reciting the Prophetic supplications related to sleep
Three. Making the firm intention to wake up for Fajr
Four. Repentance and seeking forgiveness for sins
Five. Setting effective alarms
Six. Seeking the assistance of family and/or friends in waking up.
Seven. Avoiding heavy meals at night
Eight. Avoiding late-night socializing or other unnecessary activities—as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) discouraged these, and they can affect one’s night worship or—worse—one’s Fajr prayer.

Take the Means—But the Struggle Is Blessed

Take these and other means, but don’t despair, even if you struggle.

Allah Most High says: “Say: My servants who have wronged yourselves, never despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” [Quran, 39:53]

If you fail to perform any prayer on time, sincerely repent (tawba) and seek Allah’s forgiveness.

Then, hasten to make up the missed prayer—ideally, right away—and resolve not to miss prayers.

Related Answers:

• What is Sincere Repentance?
• How Do You Know If Your Repentance is Sincere?
• How Do I Cultivate Sincere Remorse for My Sins?
• How Does One Make Up for a Large Number of Prayers?
• Is Praying Fajr During Sunrise Valid?
• How Do You Make Up for Missed Prayers?
• How Do I Calculate Years of Missed Prayers?
• Can I Combine Prayers or Make Them Up Due to Class?
• Qada’ Archives

A Useful Prophetic Supplication

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regularly recited this supplication:

اللَّهُمَّ لَا سَهْلَا إلِّا مَا جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلاً وَ أَنْتََ تَجْعَلُ الْحَزْنَ إِذَا شِئْتَ سَهْلًا
Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja‘altahu sahlan, wa Anta taj‘alu ‘l-hazna idha shi’ta sahlan.
“O Allah, nothing is easy except what You make easy.You make the difficult, if You Will, easy.”
[Ibn al-Sunni, ‘Amal al-Yawm wa al-Layla; Nawawi, al-Adhkar]

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

And Allah knows best,
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.