In what cases can prayers be left to be performed later as qada?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is a major sin to quit a prayer without any excuse. This sin is not eliminated when that prayer is performed as qada; it is also necessary to repent.

It is not a sin for a person to quit a prayer to perform it later as qada due to a legitimate excuse. Some of those excuses are as follows:

To fear the enemy, (for a midwife) to fear that the baby or the mother can die. The Prophet (pbuh) quit prayers during the Battle of Khandaq.

A person who has to fulfill a divine order cannot be freed of its responsibility unless he fulfills that divine order on time or later as qada. For, the Prophet (pbuh) said "Allah's right deserves to be fulfilled more than others."

If it is fard for a person to perform prayers and if he does not perform a prayer within the time period determined for it, he has to perform it later as qada. 

The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following regarding the issue:

"If one of you misses a prayer due to sleep or forgetfulness, let him perform it when he remembers it. For Allah said, ‘Establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.’"

The following hadith is narrated in Bukhari:

"If a person forgets to perform a prayer, let him perform it when he remembers it."

The text of the hadith that Bukhari and Muslim agree is as follows:

"If a person does not perform a prayer due to sleep or forgets to perform it, … when he remembers it."

Therefore, if a person cannot perform a prayer due to sleep or forgetfulness, he has to perform it as qada.

A person who misses a prayer due to sleep or forgetfulness is not regarded as a sinner. According to what Abu Qatada narrates, the Prophet (pbuh) said the following to the people who complained to him that they missed prayers due to sleep:

"Sleep is not a cause of negligence. Negligence occurs when one is awake. If one of you forgets to perform a prayer or misses it due to sleep, let him perform it when he remembers it."

(Prof. Dr. Wahba Zuhayli, İslam Fıkhı Ansiklopedisi)

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