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:

i thing iam bad person i don`t praey much

(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 no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, Our Lord is Oft Forgiving,  Most Merciful and he forgives everything when one does sincere Taubah and turns to him in repentance.   Regardless of what one might have done (or not done) in ones past, if one turns in sincere repentance to their Lord before their appointment of death, and makes a solemn covenant with Him to amend their conduct, it is expected that he will find his Lord Forgiving and Merciful.

Thus beloved sister, regardless of how many of the obligatory prayers you might have missed in your past life; turn to your Lord in sincere repentance and start praying and obeying his Commands from this day forward; it is expected that your Lord will completely forgive you for shortcomings and not hold you accountable for the missed prayers of the past.  If you still want to compensate for your missed obligatory prayers,  you could increase your voluntary or ‘nafl’ prayers which one prays after the obligatory prayers.   If Allah Wills, they should compensate for the missed prayers.

Taubah or sincere repentance is a deed,  that completely wipes out all our evil deeds done in the past,  provided we make a solemn covenant with Allah that we will try our best to abide by His commandments in the future.  

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."

Our Lord is  Merciful and Forgiving,  and He loves nothing more than one amongst His slaves who turns to Him in sincere repentance and Taubah.  May Allah accept yours and our repentance and Taubah,  and make us of those who never ever despair of the Mercy of our Merciful Lord.   

From Allah we have come,  in Him we have believed,  to Him we worship in hope and in fear,   to Him we ask for  forgiveness,  and to Him is our ultimate return!

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

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan