Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

jo namazain qiza ho chukki hain kya har namaz kay sath wo par saktay hain.kuon kay main nay suna hay kay jo namazain guzar chukki hain un ki qiza nahi hoti.quran_0_sunna ki roh say batayein.

jazakullah khair.(can we ask questions in urdu)? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Missed prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: jo namazain qiza ho chukki hain kya har namaz kay sath wo par saktay hain.kuon kay main nay suna hay kay jo namazain guzar chukki hain un ki qiza nahi hoti.quran_0_sunna ki roh say batayein.

(Translation: For all the (obligatory) prayers one has missed (in one’s past) can one pray an extra prayer with every obligatory prayer? I have heard that for missed prayers it is not permissible to repeat them at a later date. Please guide me in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah.)

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed the Salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed by the believers at (their) appointed times.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 45-46:

45 Nay seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and ‘salaah’: it is indeed hard except to those who bring a lowly spirit.

46 Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord and that they are to return to Him.

The Prophet (saws) said, "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer, and the top of its hump is Jihad in the Way of Allah."

Jabir reports that the Prophet (saws) said, "Between a person and disbelief is discarding prayer."

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas reported that the Prophet (saws) one day mentioned the prayer and said, "Whoever guards and observes his prayer, they (his prayers) will be a light and a proof and a savior for him on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever does not guard and obvserve them, they will not be a light or a proof or a savior for him. On the Day of Resurrection, he will be with Qarun, Fir'aun, Haman and Ubayy ibn Khalf."

Related by Ahmad, at-Tabarani and Ibn Hibban.

A man came to the Prophet (saws) and said “ O Prophet of Allah (saws), what is the act or deed most loved by Allah?”

The Prophet (saws) replied: “To pray ones prayers on time.”

The man asked further: “What (deed or act most loved by Allah) next?”

The Prophet (saws) replied: “Obedience to ones parents.”

The man asked further: “What (deed or act most loved by Allah) next?”

The Prophet (saws) replied: “Jihaad in the Way of Allah.”

Related by Bukhari.

Intentionally missing an obligatory prayer is not even given as an option in the deen of Islam! If one accidentally or unintentionally misses one’s prayer through sleep or forgetfulness, one should pray it as soon as one wakes up or remembers it.

One should strive as hard as one can to make intention to offer one’s obligatory prayers on their appointed times, and if Allah forbid, one misses a prayer, then the absolute least one can do is expiate and atone for that lapse by praying it ‘qada’ in the sincere fear and hope that the Lord Most High will accept it.

Whoever sleeps through or has forgotten to pray a certain prayer should pray it when he wakes up or remembers the prayer. Abu Qatadah related that sleeping through the prayer time was mentioned to the Prophet (saws) and he said, "There is no negligence in sleep, but negligence occurs while one is awake. If one of you forgets a prayer or sleeps through its time, then he should pray it when he remembers it."

Related by an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi.

Anas related that the Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers it, and there is no expiation for it save that."

Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

If one has in the past been negligent of their obligatory prayers, then the absolute first thing one can and must do is immediately turn back to his Lord Most Gracious in sincere Taubah for their lapse, and make a solemn and sincere intention that from this day forward, they will never ever miss even one prayer ever again. If that person is sincere in seeking repentance, it is expected that they will find his Lord Merciful and Forgiving.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

If one who has missed one’s obligatory duties unto their Lord turns back to their Lord Most Gracious in sincere ‘taubah’ and repentance, it is expected that they will find their Lord Forgiving and Merciful.

But if one is so ashamed and so repentant at one’s missing of one’s absolutely obligatory duties unto their Lord, and their hearts do not find satisfaction until they have paid their dues unto their Lord…..it is absolutely permissible for such sincerely repentant and fearful slaves of the Lord to fulfill those missed prayers in any format they desire or is easy for them. A good format suggested by the scholars to fulfill all those years of missed prayers is to estimate the number of years that one might have missed the obligatory prayers….and for the coming that many number of years, pray one extra prayer with each of their five obligatory prayer. Not only will this format put a less burden on them, their time, and their efforts….but it will fulfill their intention of making up all the missed obligatory prayers unto their Lord. And in addition to that, one should strive to increase their supererogatory prayers (Sunnah and Nafl)….for if there is any deficiency in their obligatory prayers, these supererogatory prayers will help fill those deficiencies.

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) said: "The first thing that the people will be called to account for on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. Our Lord will say to the Angels although He knows better: 'Look into the ‘Salah’ of My servant to see if he observed it perfectly or been negligent in it.’ So if he observed it perfectly it will be recorded to his credit, but if he had been negligent in it in any way, Allah would say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory (nafl) prayers.’ Then if he has any supererogatory prayers, Allah would say: ‘Make up the deficiency in My servant's obligatory prayer with his supererogatory prayers.' Thereafter all his actions will be examined in like manner"

Related by Abu Dawud.

We reiterate again that sincere ‘taubah’ and repentance by itself will indeed wipe away all their sins from their ‘book of records’, for our Lord Most Gracious is indeed Forgiving and Merciful to those who turn back to Him in sincere repentance.

But if one so fears their Lord and their Day of Accounting, and are so ashamed and repentant at their lapse that their hearts will not find satisfaction unless and until they manifest their atonement, there is absolutely no harm in them fulfilling those missed prayers in any format they desire by offering additional supererogatory prayers; it is expected that their Lord Most Gracious will accept their repentance and will turn towards them with His Infinite Mercy and Forgiveness.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan