may Allah bless him and grant him peace, which is widely transmitted from him; the imams are agreed on this. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it must perform it when he remembers it. There is no expiation for it other than that.”

It is also widely reported in the Sahīh and elsewhere:

“He and his Companions slept through the dawn prayer while travelling, then offered both its Sunnah and obligatory prayers after sunrise, with an adhān (call to prayer) and an iqāmah (call announcing the prayer’s commencement).”

Likewise, someone who forgets to purify himself from ritual impurity and prays in that state must repeat the prayer after purifying himself. There is no disagreement on this. Even if the person who forgot was leading the prayer, he must repeat it, whereas those who prayed behind him need not repeat it if they were unaware. This is the position of the majority of scholars, including Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, according to the well-known position explicitly reported from him. Such incidents occurred with ʿUmar and ʿUthmān—may Allah be pleased with them both.

As for someone who forgets to remove physical impurity, he need not repeat the prayer according to the school of Mālik, the more correct of the two reports from Ahmad, and one of al-Shāfiʿī’s two positions. This is because the latter case involves doing something prohibited, whereas the former involves omitting something commanded. Whoever does something prohibited out of forgetfulness incurs no sin, as established by the Quran and Sunnah. This is also established in the Sunnah concerning someone who eats forgetfully during Ramadan, and it is the position of Abū Hanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad.

The same principle extends to someone who speaks during prayer out of forgetfulness, and someone who forgetfully uses perfume or puts on prohibited clothing. This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and of Ahmad according to one of the two reports from him.