Question:
If I miss Fajr prayer because I’m having a hard time waking up, what is the latest time I can pray it? Can I pray it when I first wake up, as long as it’s before Zuhr?
Answer:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ،
الْـحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ، نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
The obligation of Fajr prayer lies specifically within its prescribed time, from the beginning of dawn (true Fajr) until sunrise. Allah says:
﴿ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا ﴾
“Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.” (Sūrah An‑Nisāʼ: 103)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“مَنْ نَسِيَ صَلَاةً فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا”
“Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī & Muslim)
This indicates that if Fajr is missed due to genuine forgetfulness or unforeseen circumstance, it must be offered as soon as one remembers—even if that is after sunrise—until the time of the next prayer arrives.
All four madhāhib—Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī—agree that the window for validly offering Fajr ends at sunrise. Praying after sunrise is no longer considered Fajr but rather a makeup (qaḍāʾ) for a missed prayer.
Therefore, if a person misses Fajr unintentionally (e.g. oversleeping) and wakes sometime after sunrise, they must pray it immediately upon waking. Delaying beyond that,even until before Zuhr, is permissible only as makeup, not within its proper time.
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.