Make Up Qada Prayers
It was in this month of Rajab, the 11th year after revelation, that the Prophet (s) was brought up to heaven, to the utmost boundary, to receive the gift of prayer. When the prayer, or salāh, was first assigned to us we were asked to pray fifty times per day.
Upon the Prophet’s (s) descent he passed by Musa (a), who, having struggled with his people, advised the Prophet (s) to return to Allah (swt) and ask Him to reduce the number. He did, and it became 40.
The cycle was repeated until five daily prayers were incumbent upon us. Musa (a) still implored Muhammad (s) to return and ask for a decrease in our obligation; but Prophet Muhammad (s) refused. He could not face his Lord again asking for another reduction in prayers. So it is that our five times a day of prayer equals fifty prayers.
Let’s get started on the Qada prayer journey together!
You can click on the link below to download a “qadā’ prayers” chart to help you keep track of the prayers you make up. I suggest that with each prayer you pray one qadā’ prayer, and for tahajjud you pray another day. That way you will make up two years every year. The chart has space for one year of prayers. When you complete it, print out another one and start again.
The prayer is considered one of the great gifts of this trip. It is the glory of the Muslims that we pray five times a day. We stand, we recite, we glorify, we praise, we plead, we bow, we prostrate. It is a beautiful prayer.
It is a prayer that we must do. If missed; it is not ‘no big deal,’ but rather a debt that must be repaid.
If you missed five years of prayers, then you must make up 5 years of prayer (you can subtract one week a month for ‘non-praying’ days). Just like a bank records deposits, you must record each prayer until you reach your goal.
There are three ways that people might miss a prayer.
- If you are a convert that means that the time spent before you became a Muslim you did not pray. These missed prayers do not count against you and are not a debt weighing you down. They do not have to be made up (happy dance for all converts).
- If you were born a Muslim, but spent a period of time away from obedience to God and thus you were not praying. These are considered missed prayers without excuse. They are a heavy burden and a heavy debt. Ibn Taimiyyah’s view is that the sin is so great that the prayer cannot be made up. The majority of scholars, Imām Malik, Abu Hanifa, and Shāfi`i, however, are of the opinion that they must be made up. Imam Shāfi`i holds that one should preoccupy herself with nothing else but that which keeps her alive of eating, sleeping and working, during the making-up time. Other scholars allow for a slightly more lenient approach. They all agree however, that they should be made up quickly. Indeed for one to hope for husn al khitām; she should set her sights on making them up as quickly as possible. I know one woman who made up thirty years of prayer in the last seven years of her life
- If you are a practicing Muslim, you might miss a prayer out of forgetfulness, or sleep. The sin of this is less than the one who deliberately does not pray. The scholars agree in this case that the person who missed the prayer must immediately make up her prayer. For one who has missed one prayer – it is necessary to pray it immediately. So if you wake up and find that the sun has risen, and you have not woken up for the fajr prayer; you must jump out of bed – straight to wudu’ and straight to the prayer carpet. Do not stop to make coffee. Do not stop to have a bite to eat. Definitely do NOT go to work/school first thinking, “I’ll do it when I get home.” Let’s get started on the Qada prayer journey together!
