Making up accumulated missed prayer...

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

Making up accumulated missed prayers

Question

When a person repents to his Lord, are the prayers which he missed prior to his repentance erased? Are they held against him? We asked Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi through the Internet, and he clearly stated that it is obligatory to make up the missed prayers. [As] this is not possible, what is the solution?

Answer


There is a consensus among the Imams of the four schools of jurisprudence that one must make up missed prayers because of the words of the Prophet which have been narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: “Pay the debts you owe to Allah; a debt owed to Allah has more right to be fulfilled” [Bukhari]. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet said: “Whoever forgets to perform a prayer is to pray it when he remembers: there is no other expiation for it” [Bukhari and Muslim].

Since it is obligatory for the one who has missed a prayer out of forgetfulness to make it up—though the sin and harm of missing the prayer are removed—then, there is an even stronger reason to apply it to the one who deliberately misses a prayer – hinting at [the status of] the greater by mentioning [the status of] the lessor. In Sharh Sahih Muslim, Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

One of the Zahirites maintained a deviant opinion [concerning this matter], saying that one does not have to make up a prayer which he has missed without an excuse. He claimed that missing a prayer without an excuse is so great that one cannot remove himself from its sin by making it up. This is an error and ignorance on the part of the one who said it and Allah the Almighty knows best.

Whoever has missed a prayer, whether a long or short time ago, must repent to Allah the Almighty and start making up his missed prayers. With each current prayer he must make up an old prayer of its like, and he can do just this instead of praying the sunna prayers associated with obligatory prayers. This is because the reward of an obligatory act is greater than the reward of one that is supererogatory. The Prophet pointed out the superiority of making up a missed prayer with its like in a hadith narrated by Abu Qutada al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the prophet said: “Whoever prays the dawn prayer at its prescribed time is to make up with it its like” [Abu Dawud]. al-Khattabi said: “It seems that the order here is to convey the merit of praying it at its time." One must continue to do this for a period equaling the period in which he neglected his prayers and until he deems that he has most likely made up the prayers he has missed. Should he pass away before making them up, Allah will forgive him out of His grace and generosity if He so wishes.

Allah the Almighty knows best.

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