إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ ﴿١٤﴾
Hakika Mimi ndiye Mwenyezi Mungu. Hapana mungu ila Mimi tu. Basi niabudu Mimi, na ushike Sala kwa ajili ya kunikumbuka Mimi.
Prayer (Salah)
Missed prayers: how to make them up
The ruling in short
A person who sleeps through a prayer or forgets it prays it as soon as he wakes or remembers. The Prophet ﷺ said that its only expiation is to pray it, then recited: establish prayer for My remembrance (20:14).
1What to do
- Pray the missed prayer as soon as you remember, before the next one if the time is short.
- If many prayers were missed, pray them in order, if possible, as the Prophet ﷺ did on the day of the Trench.
- Make the intention for the specific prayer. It is prayed in the same way as the original prayer.
2A person who left prayers deliberately
- He should repent sincerely and pray what he missed according to the majority of scholars (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali).
- Some scholars (such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Hazm) held that a deliberate leaving cannot be made up and repentance with plenty of voluntary good deeds is the remedy. The majority position is safer.
Where the schools differ
The four Sunni schools agree on the main ruling above and differ in these points. No school is preferred here.
- Order of the missed prayers. the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools require the order (for a few prayers); the Shafi'i school says it is recommended.
The evidence
From the Quran
From the Sunnah
Sahih Muslim 684a Authentic collection
The point of the hadith: Whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers. There is no expiation except that.
Read the Arabic text
حَدَّثَنَا هَدَّابُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ نَسِيَ صَلاَةً فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا لاَ كَفَّارَةَ لَهَا إِلاَّ ذَلِكَ " . قَالَ قَتَادَةُ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِذِكْرِي .
This is general information, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.
Fiqh questions
Missed prayers: how to make them up
A person who sleeps through a prayer or forgets it prays it as soon as he wakes or remembers. The Prophet ﷺ said that its only expiation is to pray it, then recited: establish prayer for My remembrance (20:14).
Is this a fatwa?
No. It is a summary of well-known rulings with their evidence. For your own case, ask a qualified scholar.
What if my school differs from this answer?
Follow the view of the school you follow and the scholar who teaches you. The page lists the differences of the four schools.