How Do
One Make Up For Missed Solāh?
In the name of Allāh, the Most
Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the praise and thanks is due to
Allāh, the Lord of al-`ālameen. I testify that there is none worthy of worship
except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam is His Messenger.
The
Solāh are enjoined to be adhered to its specific time and it is not permissible
to transgress against that except for reasons permitted in syari`ah. The Five
daily Solāh is a mandatory tenet of Islam and indeed Allah has allocated specific
times for acts of worship for reasons that are known to Him.
If
one missed the Solāh with no excuse; rather he ignored it until the time for it
ended, out of laziness and carelessness. This according to the consensus of the
Muslims fuqaha' the person has committed a major sin.
It
is not valid for him to make it up (Qada') according to the more correct of the
two scholarly opinions, rather he has to repent and regret it, and resolve not
to do that again, and he should do a lot of good deeds and offer a lot of
voluntary Solāh.
Allāh
Subhānahu wa ta`ala clearly says in the Qur`an:
“Verily,
As-Solāh is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours” [An-Nisā’, 4:103]
Whatever
the case, we are enjoined to adhere to it and it is not permissible to
transgress against that except for reasons permitted in syāri`ah.
If a person misses
the Solāh, one of two scenarios must possibly apply:
1 – He
missed it for a reason, such as falling asleep or forgetting it. There is no
sin on him in this case, but he has to make it up when he wakes up or remembers
it.
It
was narrated from Anas ibn Mālik (radiyallāhu`anhu) that the Prophet
(Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said:
“Whoever
forgets a
Solāh let
him offer it as soon as he remembers, for there is no expiation for it other
than that.”
[Narrated
by al-Bukhari (572)]
Imām
Muslim narrated an additional phrase, “or sleeps and misses it”: “If one of you sleeps and misses a Solāh, or forgets it,
let him offer the Solāh when he remembers, for Allah says ‘and perform As-Solāh
(Iqamat as-Solāh) for My remembrance’ [Ta-Ha, 20:14].”
[Narrated
by Muslim (684)]
2 –He
missed the Solāh with no excuse; rather he ignored it until the time for it
ended, out of laziness and carelessness. This according to the consensus of the
Muslims fuqaha' the person has committed a major sin.
It
is not valid for him to make it up (Qada') according to the more correct of the
two scholarly opinions, rather he has to repent and regret it, and resolve not
to do that again, and he should do a lot of good deeds and offer a lot of
voluntary Solāh.
Ibn
Hazam (rahimahullāh) said:
“As for the one who deliberately omits to perform Solāh until
the time for the Solāh ends, he can never make it up, so he should do a lot of
good deeds and offer a lot of voluntary Solāh, so that his balance (of good
deeds) will weigh heavily on the Day of Resurrection, and he should repent and
ask Allah for forgiveness.”
[Al-Muhalla
(2/235)]
This
is also the view of `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and his son `Abdallah, and of Sa`ad
Ibn Abi Waqqas, Salman, Ibn Mas`ud, Al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr, Badeel
Al-`Aqeeli, Muhammad Ibn Sireen, Mutarrif Ibn `Abdallah and `Umar Ibn `Abd
Al-`Aziz. It was also the view of Dawud Al-Zahiri and Ibn Hazam, and was the
view favoured by Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and al-Shawkani. Among
contemporary scholars it was regarded as more correct by Al-Albāni, Ibn Bāz,
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen and others.
They quoted as
evidence the following:
(i)
The firman of Allāh Subhānahu wa ta`ala: “Verily, As-Solāh is enjoined on the believers at fixed
hours” [An-Nisā’, 4:103]
They
said the ayat stipulate in most clear term that: “There is a set time for Solāh and it is not
permissible to do it at any other time except with evidence.”
And
the Prophet (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever forgets a Solāh, let him offer it as
soon as he remembers, for there is no expiation for it other than that.” [Narrated
by Al-Bukhari (572)]
(ii)
The words “let
him offer it as soon as he remembers, for there is no expiation for it other
than that” means: “If he delays in offering the Solāh after he remembers
it, then it is not expiation”
So,
how about the one who neglects it deliberately without forgetting or sleeping?
It is more likely that it will not be expiation in that case and making it up
will be of no benefit.
(iii)
It is because Allah has allocated a specific time for each obligatory Solāh,
specifying the beginning and end thereof, so it is as if it is not valid to do
it before that time just as it is not valid to do it afterwards.
[Al-Muhalla
(2/235)]
iv)
Ibn Hazam (rahimahullāh) said:
“Making it up should be based on evidence, and it is not
permissible for anything to be prescribed other than by Allāh on the lips of
His Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam).
We ask those who say that the one who deliberately omits the
Solāh is obliged to make it up to tell us about this Solāh. Is it the Solāh
that was enjoined by Allah or some other Solāh?
If they say it is the one that was enjoined by Allah, then we
say to them: Then the one who deliberately omits it is a sinner, because he has
not done what Allah commanded him to do and there is a sin, because he
deliberately omits to observe Solāh until the time for it ends.”
[Al-Muhalla
(2/236)]
Those
who say that he has to make it up did so by analogy with the one who forgets
or falls asleep, and they said that if the one who forgets has to make it up,
then it is more likely that the one who deliberately omitted it should do so.
My
response is that there is no comparison between the two scenarios, because the
one who omits it deliberately is sinning, which is not true in the case of the
one who forgets, so how can an analogy be drawn between the one who is sinning
and the one who is not sinning?
Al-Shawkani
(rahimahullāh) quoted Ibn Taymiyah (rahimahullāh) said:
“Those who disagree – i.e., those who say that he should
make up the Solāh – do not have any proof to support their argument. Most of
them say that he does not have to make it up unless there is a clear command
(based on evidence), but there is no such command in this case. We do not
disagree that it is obligatory to make it up; rather we disagree as to whether
the made-up Solāh will be accepted from him and whether Solāh offered at the
wrong time is valid. He discussed this matter at length and he favoured the
view that was mentioned by Dawud and those who agreed with him, and the matter
is as he put it, because I made a thorough study of this matter and I did not
see any reliable evidence that obliges the one who misses a Solāh deliberately
to make it up.”
[Nayl
al-Awtār (2/26)]
The
more correct view – and Allah knows best – is that the one who deliberately
omits the prayer should not make it up; rather he has to seek forgiveness and
repent. Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) discussed this issue at length and
examined the evidence of both sides in his useful book ‘Al-Solāh (p. 67-109)’.
Shaykh
Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (rahimahullāh) said:
“The scholars who say that he should make up the Solāh do not
say that by making it up he is absolved of sin, rather they say that by making
it up his burden of sin is reduced, but the sin of missing and delaying the
Solāh beyond its prescribed time is like any other sin, it needs either
repentance or good deeds that will erase it or other things that will waive the
punishment.”
[Minhaj
al-Sunnah (5/233)]
And
Allāh Almighty Knows best.
[Via Islam Q&A]
1. The Introduction; 1.6. Clearing the Misconceptions
2.1. Facing the Ka`abah ; 2.2. Standing in Solah ; 2.3. Intention ; 2.4. Takbīratulihram ;
2.1. Facing the Ka`abah ; 2.2. Standing in Solah ; 2.3. Intention ; 2.4. Takbīratulihram ;
2.8. Ruku ; 2.9. Sujud; 2.10. Second Rak`ah ; 2.11. First Tashahhud;
2.12. Standing up for the Third, and then the Fourth Rak`ah;
2.13. The Final Tashahhud; 2.14. The Taslim.
2.12. Standing up for the Third, and then the Fourth Rak`ah;
2.13. The Final Tashahhud; 2.14. The Taslim.
All About
The Solah
6. The Adzān;
14. Places Where
Offering Solāh Is Prohibited ;15. Placing a Sutrah
In front of One Who is Performing Solah;
44. Solāh al-Jumu`ah;45. Solāh al-Kasuf ; 46.
Solāh al-Khauf ;47. Solāh al-Marid; 48. Solāh
al-Tahajjud ;
