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The question

Is a sick person who sleeps during prayer and repeatedly does so after being woken and performing tayammum sinful?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Prayer is a great pillar that does not fall under any circumstances, and the worshipper must pray according to his ability. Scholars differed on the ruling of waking up a sleeping person for prayer. The Shafi'is and some Malikis held that it is commendable, while the Hanbalis held that it is obligatory if the time is short. A sleeping person must be woken up for prayer if the time is short, and if the prayer time allows for combining, he can be woken up at the time of the second prayer to combine the two prayers. If sleep overcomes the worshipper to the extent that he does not perform a pillar of prayer, it becomes void, and ablution is invalidated by sleep unless it is light while standing or sitting. Tayammum (dry ablution) is not valid except when water is unavailable or there is fear of harm from its use. It is permissible to combine two prayers due to hardship, whether it is in prayer or purification.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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