The evidence for this is the great, general principle that Allah has laid down for His servants:

“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. It shall have the reward of what it has earned, and it shall bear the burden of what it has committed. Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake.” [al-Baqarah 2:286]

This person who committed this prohibited act was either unaware or forgetful, and Allah has lifted accountability from him in such cases; thus, nothing remains for which he may be held liable.

There is also specific evidence regarding this issue: when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed wearing sandals that had filth on them, and Gabriel informed him of this, he did not begin the prayer afresh. (1) If this did not invalidate the beginning of the prayer, then it does not invalidate the rest of it.

If someone were to say, “What prevents this from being analogized to the case of one who prays while in a state of ritual impurity, unaware or forgetful?”

The answer is that failing to perform ablution falls under the category of omitting what has been commanded. Ablution is something that one is commanded to perform; a person is required to carry it out. Impurity, on the other hand, is something prohibited, from which a person is required to keep himself free. Thus, committing what is prohibited cannot be analogized to omitting what has been commanded. When a prohibited act is excused because of ignorance or forgetfulness, the one who committed it is, in effect, like one who did not commit it at all, since he bears no sin for it. As for omitting what has been commanded due to ignorance or forgetfulness, a person is excused at the time of the omission: he is not sinful like one who deliberately omits it. Yet its benefit can be remedied by repeating it in the manner commanded. So take note of the distinction, for it is clear.

Accordingly, if someone were to eat camel meat, without knowing that it