from the obligation of prayer once he has reached puberty and is of sound mind. If, however, he is still a child who has not yet attained puberty, or he is insane, or his intellect is altogether absent, then the duty is lifted from him, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The Pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeper until he wakes, from the child until he reaches maturity, and from the mentally incapacitated until he regains his reason.”

In short, the prayer never falls away from a Muslim who is mature and rational as long as his mind remains intact; he simply performs it in whatever manner his condition allows.

Question: So we can say there are two cases: childhood, and the other is the loss of sanity?
Answer: Loss of sanity—yes.

Question: And, of course, this is not counting the women whom the Sacred Law exempts?
Answer: The menstruating woman and the woman in post-partum bleeding—yes, that is another matter. For them the prayer is waived only for the duration of their bleeding; it is a temporary condition.

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Combining the prayers

Question: I perform the prayers in the prescribed manner, but my school schedule conflicts with the prayer times. I am only able to pray Fajr, Maghrib, and ‘Isha’. As for Dhuhr and ‘Asr, I do not have enough time to pray them until I return from school. May I combine them with Maghrib, and will I be sinful?