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:

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Burhan Bhai

1) My question is regarding the Safar ki Namaz, which i have missed. After returning from journey, i have 1 namaz left to be prayed kaza. How shall i read it, either it will be read as Qaza Safar Namaz or will it be read qaza as normal at home ?

2) Is this true that isha prayer (only farz and sunnat) must be prayed before midnight (12 am)?
What if i forgot to read before midnight and then i read it after midnight and before fajar time starts. will this namaz be accepted ?

Jazakallah
Umer 

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Answer:

Missed qada 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.

Q-1: My question is regarding the Safar ki Namaz, which i have missed. After returning from journey, i have 1 namaz left to be prayed kaza.

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.

Unless and until one sleeps, or forgets, or it’s a matter of life and death, etc., there is absolutely no reason for one to miss their prayers and/or make them ‘qada’! The obligatory prayers are a duty that should be performed by the believers at their appointed times, regardless of whether they are residents or travelers. The travelers have been given a concession that they may shorten and if they wish, join their prayers; but this duty of obligatory prayers must be performed on time.

It is not in accordance with the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah that a traveling believer leaves his prayers, and performs them ‘qada’ upon his return to his home or city!

The obligatory prayers that one has intentionally missed can never be recompensed; and the only solution to one’s missed prayers is to turn to their Lord Most Merciful in sincere Taubah and seek sincere repentance for their lapse; it is expected that they will find their Lord Forgiving and Merciful. And the best form of manifesting one’s repentance and taubah for intentionally missing one’s obligatory prayer is to offer the missed prayer, in the hope that their Lord Most Gracious will accept their repentance and forgive them their leaving of this paramount and obligatory duty.

Q-2: How shall i read it, either it will be read as Qaza Safar Namaz or will it be read qaza as normal at home?

Although one should never ever bring such a situation upon himself whereby one has left one’s prayer unperformed; if one is in a situation where one has returned home after traveling with a prayer unperformed, then it would be best to offer the full and normal prayer as an atonement for their missed prayer, in the sincere hope that their Lord Most Gracious will accept this prayer as an atonement to the missed prayer.

Q-3: Is this true that isha prayer (only farz and sunnat) must be prayed before midnight (12 am)?
Al-Muwatta Hadith 1.9

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet (saws) asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow is twice your height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha in the first third of the night, and subh in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely come.

It is reported in an authentic narration that Hadrat Jibrael himself taught the time and the way to perform the salaah to the Prophet (saws). On the first day, Hadrat Jibrael came and led the Prophet (saws) at the beginning times of each prayer; and on the next day he led the Prophet (saws) at the end times of each prayer. And then Hadrat Jibrael told the Prophet (saws), that the prayers should be performed between these two bands of times. But on both these days, Hadrat Jibrael led the Magrib prayers at the same time, which is immediately after the setting of the sun.

The prayer times are as follows:

Zohr: The time for zohr prayers starts immediate after ‘zawaal’ (when the sun moves in the west direction after the mid-day point). And zohr ends when the shadow of any object is twice the length of the object.

Asr: When the zohr ends, that is the beginning of Asr time, and Asr lasts till the sun begins to set.

Magrib: Starts immediately after the sun has set and lasts till the red-line disappears from the sky and it is dark.

Isha: Starts when the red-line from the horizon disappears and becomes dark. There are two opinion when Isha ends: One is uptil mid-night, and the other opinion is that Isha time ends before the advent of fajr time.

Fajr: Starts when the light of the sun is visible from the east and lasts until just before the sun is seen rising.

If the prayer is prayed between the two bands of beginning and end, it will be considered ‘ada’ prayers. But the Prophet (saws) said it is preferable to perform the prayers at the beginning times, and he (saws) himself led the believers in all the prayers at the beginning times in congregation.

Q-4: What if i forgot to read before midnight and then i read it after midnight and before fajar time starts. will this namaz be accepted ?

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.99

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "There is no negligence while one is asleep but forgetfulness occurs when one is awake. If one of you forgets the prayer or sleeps through its time, then he should perform the salah when he recalls it."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.571 Narrated by Anas

The Prophet (saws) said, "If anyone forgets a prayer he should pray that prayer when he remembers it. There is no expiation except to pray the same."

If one genuinely forgets to perform one’s ‘Isha’ (or any obligatory) prayers before its time ends, one should offer the prayer immediately whenever one recalls or remembers it; it is expected that their Lord Most Gracious will accept their prayers.

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