Oh no - my alarm failed and I missed Fajr! What should I do?

Assalamu Alaikum, 🌷 What to Do series 🌷 by Asma bint Shameem ❓ QUESTION ❓ Oh no - my alarm didn’t go off and I missed Fajr! What should I do? 🌿 ANSWER 🌿 1) Pray as soon as you wake up If you meant to pray on time but slept through your alarm or it failed for some reason beyond your control, then perform the prayer as soon as you wake up. It won’t be counted as intentionally missing it. Don’t put it off to some later time - pray right away and, In shaa’ Allah, it won’t be held against you. That is part of Allah’s mercy and kindness. Proof: The Prophet ﷺ and his Companions once overslept on a journey. The Companions asked if there was any expiation, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained that sleeping is not the same as neglecting; if someone misses a prayer by sleep or forgetfulness, he should pray it when he remembers. (Saheeh Muslim) Also, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever forgets a prayer, or sleeps and misses it, let him offer it as soon as he remembers, for there is no expiation for it other than that.” (Muslim 684) This applies when the intention to pray on time was sincere and the miss was due to a valid excuse, not to deliberate laziness. Pray the two Sunnah of Fajr first, then the Fardh when you wake. 2) What if there’s not much time left? If time is short, pray the Fardh first so you don’t miss the prayer time. After completing the Fardh, if there’s still time before sunrise, you may pray the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ allowed making up the missed Sunnah after the Fardh in such situations. But if the sun has already started rising by the time you finish the Fardh, delay the Sunnah until after the sunrise period has passed, because praying at the exact time of sunrise is disliked and was warned against by the Prophet ﷺ. 3) What if the sun is already rising when I wake? You should still complete the Fardh. The Prophet ﷺ said that if someone catches a unit (rak’ah) of the morning or Asr prayer before the time ends, he should complete the prayer. Imām an‑Nawawi explains that if the prayer time ends while you are praying (before you say the salam), your prayer is still valid and you should finish it. Important note Intentionally missing a prayer without a valid Shar‘i excuse is a grave sin. If someone deliberately abandons a prayer, it’s a serious matter and not the same as missing it by mistake. As Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen said, missing a prayer without excuse is a major issue. May Allah help us be punctual with our prayers and make us among those guided. And Allah knows best.