Question:

This monday i woke up late and i wrongly thought that the time of salat fajr was over.My mother wanted to use the bathroom so i said to myself i will let her use it since i am out of time for the salat i can wait before doing it.I looked outside i could see that it was still a little dark but i said to myself the sun is hidden behind the fog so i still took my time.But during this time my mind was not clear sometimes i thought i was in the time sometimes not but i chose to believe i was out of time.I went to make wudu and salat and later in the day i looked at a prayer sheet and it said that i would have had the time to do it because there was still six minutes.I wanted to know if i am guilty of volontary delaying salat.

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If the situation is as you mentioned in the question that you believed that the time of the prayer was over, and you delayed the prayer due to your mother wanting to relieve herself, then we hope that you are not sinful because you believed that you had to make up the prayer because its time was over.

Even according to the view that one is obliged to immediately make up a missed prayer, as per the opinion of the Hanbali and Maaliki School, then it is permissible to delay making up a missed prayer if there is a sound religious reason, as stated by the Hanbali School. Allowing your mother to enter the toilets before you is a sound reason, Allah willing.

Moreover, Allah will not hold into account the Muslim Nation for things they commit by mistake, or things which they forget, or which they were forced to do.

However, you should try to wake up early in the future in order to perform the Fajr prayer at its prescribed fixed time and with the congregation in the mosque if possible.

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb