Short answer
The hadith is authentic, but it means you lose the reward of your prayers for 40 days, not that you stop praying. Your prayers are still valid and still obligatory, and leaving them would add a second, bigger sin. Sincere repentance is accepted: the hadith itself says so.
Prayers made after drinking are valid and are not repeated, but their reward is withheld as a punishment. Prayer stays fard throughout, and any prayer missed while intoxicated must be made up.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said: whoever drinks wine, Allah does not accept a prayer from him for forty mornings; if he repents, Allah accepts his repentance. Another narration says this of anyone who drinks any intoxicant, which is why scholars apply the warning to drugs such as weed as well.
Scholars explain that not accepted here means not rewarded. It does not mean the prayer is invalid. The prayer still counts, so you are not asked to repeat it, and the duty to pray is not lifted. Skipping prayers because they will not be accepted anyway is a trick of Shaytan: it adds the major sin of leaving salah to the sin of drinking.
What to do:
- Stop and repent: regret it, resolve not to return, and ask Allah's forgiveness. Salat al-tawbah is a good start.
- Keep praying every prayer on time.
- Make up any prayer you missed while drunk.
- Do not pray while still intoxicated; the Quran tells believers not to approach prayer until they know what they are saying.
- If it has become a habit, seek help. Struggling with addiction is not a reason to stay away from Allah.
The forty days are a warning of how serious drinking is, not a sentence of despair, and the same hadith repeats that Allah accepts repentance. The four schools agree on this reading. For the worldly penalty see punishment for drinking alcohol.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:43
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا۟ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِى سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىٰ تَغْتَسِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا ﴿٤٣﴾
O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or in a state of janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.
Prayer is not offered while intoxicated.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1862
Grading to be checked... من شرب الخمر لم يقبل الله له صلاة أربعين صباحا ...
"Whoever drinks wine, Allah does not accept a prayer from him for forty mornings; if he repents, Allah accepts his repentance."
The warning, together with the open door of repentance.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3680
Grading to be checked... ومن شرب مسكرا بخست صلاته أربعين صباحا ...
"Whoever drinks an intoxicant, his prayer is diminished for forty mornings."
Extends the warning to every intoxicant and shows the loss is in reward.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the prayer of the sick. Losing one's mind through a drink one chose does not drop the duty to make up prayers.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.