Is the prayer of a wine-drinker accepted if he repents before the forty days are complete?
The questioner refers to the hadith of Ibn Umar, which states that whoever drinks alcohol, their prayer will not be accepted for forty mornings. This applies to those who do not repent. As for the one who repents, their sin is erased, and their prayers and good deeds are accepted. The hadith does not mean permission for the alcohol drinker to abandon prayer for forty days, as abandoning even one prayer is a greater sin than adultery, theft, and drinking alcohol. The meaning of the hadith is that the alcohol drinker who persists in their sin will not be rewarded for their prayers for forty days, but prayer remains obligatory for them and fulfills the duty. If they repent, their reward will be complete and their recompense fully provided.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/95497