2/15. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 441 — Missed Prayer and Wakeful Delay
Whoever Sleeps Through The Prayer (Time) Or Forgets (To Pray)
Missed Prayer Hadith: Sleep Is Not Remissness
Sunan Abi Dawud : 441
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 441
حَدَّثَنَا الْعَبَّاسُ الْعَنْبَرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ، - وَهُوَ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ - حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ الْمُغِيرَةِ - عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَبَاحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لَيْسَ فِي النَّوْمِ تَفْرِيطٌ إِنَّمَا التَّفْرِيطُ فِي الْيَقَظَةِ أَنْ تُؤَخَّرَ صَلاَةٌ حَتَّى يَدْخُلَ وَقْتُ أُخْرَى " .
Abu Qatadah Narrated from:
Abu Qatadah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: There is no remissness in sleep, it is only when one is awake that there is remissness when you delay saying the prayer till the time for the next prayer comes.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 441In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 51English translation : Book 2, Hadith 441
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 441
This hadith speaks about missed prayer, sleep, and delay in a very clear way. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says that remissness is not in sleep. A person may sleep and miss a prayer without choosing to leave it. The real warning here is about being awake and still delaying a prayer until the time of the next prayer enters. So the main lesson is not to be careless with salah while we are able to act. For someone searching for a hadith about missed prayer due to sleep, this narration shows the difference between sleep and wakeful neglect. It keeps the focus on prayer time, personal attention, and not pushing salah aside when we are awake.
What we learn from this hadith
- Sleep itself is not described here as remissness.
- Delaying prayer while awake is treated as the real blameworthy act.
- A prayer should not be delayed until the next prayer time begins.
