Fatwa No : 893
Method of Performing Missed Acts of Worship

Method of Performing Missed Acts of Worship

Asslamu Alaikum
Mufti Saheb,
A person has missed his obligatory Prayers for 3 or more years and now he wants to repent for it and perform his missed Prayers. Is there any special way of doing this? Likewise, is there a way of performing missed fasts and Sajood-e-Tilawat (the prostration done after reciting particular verses of Qur'an)? If the person is precisely not aware of the amount of missed prayers, fasts or Sujood-e-Tilawat, then what must he do?

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

Wa Alaikumus Salam wa Rahmathullahi wa Barakaathuhu!
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful.
There is not special way to perform missed acts of worship, not is there a specific time in which they must be performed, rather, excluding the detestable (Makrooh) times and prohibited days, performance of missed prayers and observance of missed fasts can be done whenever one wishes. However, the easiest way of performing missed prayers is to perform one or any convenient number of missed prayers of a particular Salah in its respective timing after performing the obligatory prayer. In case of uncertainty as to amount of prayers missed, one should continuously perform the missed prayers until he is convinced that he has performed all of his missed prayers. Moreover, the method of making intention for a missed prayer is, for example: when performing a missed Fajr prayer, intention should be made in the following manner: "I intend to perform the first Fajr prayer which is due in my responsibility". In this way, one must make intention before performing all of his missed prayers. As for the missed fasts and Sujood-e-Tilawat (in case of uncertainty as to their missed amount), one should estimate their amount and perform them with the intention of performing either from the first or the last of them due in his responsibility. Once it is ascertained that the missed amount has been completed, then he may stop.
Allah knows best.

مأخَذُ الفَتوی

ففی الدر المختار: كثرت الفوائت نوى أول ظهر عليه أو آخره اھ(2/ 76)
وفی حاشية ابن عابدين: (قوله كثرت الفوائت إلخ) مثاله: لو فاته صلاة الخميس والجمعة والسبت فإذا قضاها لا بد من التعيين لأن فجر الخميس مثلا غير فجر الجمعة، فإن أراد تسهيل الأمر، يقول أول فجر مثلا، فإنه إذا صلاه يصير ما يليه أولا أو يقول آخر فجر، فإن ما قبله يصير آخرا، ولا يضره عكس الترتيب لسقوطه بكثرة الفوائت. (2/ 76)
وفی الدر المختار: وجميع أوقات العمر وقت للقضاء إلا الثلاثة المنهية (2/ 66)
وفی حاشية ابن عابدين: تحت (قوله إلا الثلاثة المنهية) وهي الطلوع والاستواء والغروب اھ(2/ 66)