he has thereby delayed it beyond the time in which he was commanded to perform it. Were he not commanded to perform it within that time, he could permissibly delay it while going somewhere to obtain water for purification or a garment to borrow, or attending to something similar. This, however, contradicts the consensus of the Muslims.

Rather, someone who awakens near the end of the appointed time need only perform ablution just as someone who awakens within that time does. But if he were to delay the prayer because he would find water at midday, for example, that would not be permissible.

Moreover, the scholars have explicitly stated that when the time for prayer arrives and a person does not pray, he is to be put to death, even if he says, “I will make it up later,” just as he is to be put to death if he says, “I will pray without ablution or facing a direction other than the qiblah.” If he deliberately omits any obligatory requirement of prayer upon which there is consensus, he is to be put to death for omitting it, just as he is for abandoning the prayer itself.

If we hold that he is to be put to death when the time remaining for the second or fourth prayer grows short, the matter is as stated. The same applies if we hold that he is to be put to death when the time remaining for the first prayer grows short—which is the correct view—or for the third. This depends on whether he is to be put to death for abandoning one prayer or three; there are two transmitted opinions on this.

If we hold that abandoning one prayer suffices, must one wait until the time of the following prayer, or is it enough that the remaining time for the neglected prayer grows short? There are two juristic views on this.

There is also a third view, which distinguishes between a pair of prayers that may be combined and other prayers.

The fact that prayer remains valid after its appointed time, unlike the case with its other obligatory requirements, does not contradict what we have stated. Once the appointed time has passed, it cannot be recovered, so he cannot