Suppose a man has arranged to meet a group of people at a mosque. He arrives at the mosque and finds that they have not yet come, so he begins to offer a voluntary prayer. Then they arrive. In this case, he may discontinue the voluntary prayer. Likewise, if a man sets aside specific dirhams for a certain poor person, intending to give them to him in charity, he may change his mind so long as the poor person has not taken possession of them. They remain his property: if he wishes, he may go through with it, and if he wishes, he may refrain.

From this we recognize the error of what some common people do: a person may be accustomed to giving his zakat al-fitr to a particular individual, and so he reserves it for him, to the point that the proper time for payment sometimes passes while he is still holding it for that person. We say: even if you had intended it for a particular person, when the time for payment comes, you must give it to someone else.

They cited the following as evidence for their view:

1. The general import of Allah’s saying: “And do not let your deeds come to nothing.” [Muhammad 47:33]

2. The Prophet ﷺ said to Abdullah ibn Amr: “Do not be like so-and-so: he used to pray at night, then he abandoned the night prayer.” (1) If the Prophet ﷺ criticized him for abandoning the night prayer, then what of one who has actually commenced a voluntary act of worship? Surely, criticizing him if he abandons it is even more warranted. Therefore, we say to a person who has begun a voluntary act: do not discontinue it except for a sound reason.

Is it a sound reason, if a person has begun a voluntary prayer and his mother calls him to answer her, for him to discontinue the prayer?