Missed prayers and making them up (qada)
Why every missed prayer must be made up, who is excused, when sequence (tartib) must be kept and when it is waived, and what to do about a lifetime of missed prayers.
Qada means praying a prayer late, after its own time has finished, because you missed it.
Delaying a prayer past its time without a good reason is a major sin.
12Any prayer you miss (whether on purpose, by accident, because you slept through it, or for any other reason) must be made up (qada) later.
123Who does not have to make up missed prayers
- Someone who was insane, unconscious, or too sick even to pray by gestures for the length of six prayer-times does not have to make up those prayers. But if it only lasted through five prayer-times and cleared up before the sixth, qada of those is required.
- Women do not make up the prayers they missed during their monthly period or after childbirth.
Making up fard, wajib, and (missed) sunnah prayers is required. There is no qada for Jumu'ah or the two Eid prayers. Other sunnah or nafl prayers do not need to be made up either, except the Fajr sunnah. But if you deliberately break a prayer while you're praying it, you must make that one up.
12It is strongly disliked (haram) to make up missed prayers in public in a way that lets other people know you are doing qada.
The three times order (tartib) is not required
- There is no time left to pray both the qada and the current prayer before its time runs out.
- You forgot about the qada, remembered it after starting the current prayer, and finished the current prayer anyway; that current prayer is still valid.
- Six or more prayers are missed: after that many, the order no longer has to be kept, even if they were missed at very different times.
Delaying a prayer without a valid excuse is a major sin.
12Any prayer that is missed (whether intentionally, accidentally, through sleep, or for any other reason) must be made up (qada).
123Qada of fard prayers, of wajib prayers, and of sunnah prayers is obligatory. There is no qada for Jumu'ah or the two Eid prayers. Qada is likewise not required for any other sunnah or nafl prayer, except the Fajr sunnah, but where a prayer is intentionally invalidated mid-performance, its qada is obligatory.
12Performing qada prayers publicly in a way that makes others aware of them is harām.
Keeping the proper sequence (tartib) between qada prayers is obligatory, as it is between sunnah and fard prayers. If a fard prayer is performed before its outstanding qada, that fard prayer is not valid; the same applies between a fard prayer and Witr.
1234| Case | Detail |
|---|---|
| No time for both | There is no time left to pray both the qada and the current (adaʾ) prayer before its own time runs out. |
| Forgotten until mid-prayer | The qada is forgotten and only remembered after the adaʾ prayer has begun but before it is finished; the adaʾ prayer remains valid. |
| Six or more missed | Once six or more prayers have been missed, sequence is no longer obligatory, even if they were missed at different times or long ago. |
Delaying a prayer beyond its time without a valid ʿudhr is a major sin (kabīrah).
12Qaḍāʾ is obligatory for every missed prayer, whatever the cause: deliberate omission, accident, oversleeping, or any other reason.
123Qaḍāʾ is obligatory for farḍ, for wājib, and for sunnah prayers alike. Jumuʿah and the two ʿĪd prayers carry no qaḍāʾ at all. No other sunnah or nafl carries a qaḍāʾ obligation, save the sunnah of Fajr, though a prayer deliberately invalidated during its own performance must be made up regardless of its original rank.
12Performing qaḍāʾ publicly in a manner that makes it known to others is ḥarām.
Tartīb between qaḍāʾ prayers, and between qaḍāʾ and current (adāʾ) prayers, is obligatory in the same manner as the internal sequence of sunnah and farḍ. An adāʾ prayer performed ahead of an outstanding qaḍāʾ is invalid under this rule; as is a farḍ prayed ahead of an outstanding Witr.
1234| Case | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Insufficient time for both | No time remains to perform the qaḍāʾ and the adāʾ before the adāʾ's own time lapses. |
| Qaḍāʾ forgotten mid-adāʾ | The qaḍāʾ is recalled only after the adāʾ has begun and before it concludes; the adāʾ already in progress is unaffected and remains valid. |
| Six or more missed | Once six or more prayers are outstanding, tartīb lapses altogether, irrespective of how scattered in time the missed prayers are. |
This is the English translation of Nisab Ahle Khidmaat Sharia, exactly as the book has it, for the passages this page was written from. About 646 words. Switch back to Guide for the rewritten version.
Rulings of Prayer (Salah) 17. Statement Regarding Missed Prayers (Qaza)
- Delaying a prayer without a valid excuse is a major sin.
- Any prayer that is missed (whether intentionally, accidentally, due to sleep, or any other reason) must be made up (Qaza).
- If someone is affected by insanity, unconsciousness, or a disease that prevents them from even performing the prayer with gestures, and this condition lasts through the time of six prayers, they are not required to make up those prayers. However, if the condition lasts through the time of five prayers and ends before the sixth prayer, then Qaza is necessary.
- Women are not required to make up prayers missed during their menstrual or postnatal period.
- The Qaza of Fard prayers is obligatory, the Qaza of Wajib prayers is obligatory, and the Qaza of Sunnah prayers is obligatory. However, there is no Qaza for Jumu’ah or Eid prayers. Similarly, the Qaza of any Sunnah or Nafl prayer, except for the Fajr Sunnah, is not required. However, if a prayer is intentionally invalidated during its performance, its Qaza is obligatory.
- There is no fixed time for performing Qaza prayers. Apart from the prohibited times (like at sunrise, sunset, and when the sun is at its zenith), a person may make up missed prayers at any time during their lifetime.
- It is highly disliked (Haraam) to publicly perform Qaza prayers in such a way that others become aware of them.
- Maintaining the proper sequence is obligatory when performing Qaza prayers, just as it is in Sunnah and Fard prayers. If a person performs the Fard prayer before the Qaza prayer, the prayer will not be valid. The same applies to Fard and Witr prayers.
- The sequence can be waived in three cases:
- First condition: If there is no time left to perform both Qaza and Adah prayers.
- Second condition: If the person forgets to perform the Qaza prayer and remembers it after beginning the Adah prayer but before finishing it, the Adah prayer will not be valid.
- Third condition: If six or more prayers are missed, the sequence requirement is no longer obligatory, even if they were missed at different times or a long period ago.
- If a person misses a prayer and then offers five other prayers, and they still do not make up the missed prayer despite having time and remembering it, then the missed prayer will invalidate the five prayers offered. However, if they do not perform the missed prayer, the five prayers will be valid, but the sequence will be broken.
- Once the sequence is broken, the person has the choice to either make up the Qaza prayers first or perform the Adah prayers. If they perform the Adah prayers before the Qaza prayer, the Adah prayers will be valid.
- The sequence does not return until all the Qaza prayers are completed.
- After many prayers have been missed, there is no need to maintain sequence when making them up. For example, if a person missed prayers for a month, they can perform Fajr first, then Zuhr, and so on without needing to follow a strict sequence.
- If someone has missed six or more prayers but remains regular in offering prayers, then if they miss one more prayer, they can perform the Adah prayer without making up the Qaza prayer.
- If there are many Qaza prayers to make up, it is necessary to specify which day’s prayers are being made up. If this cannot be determined, it is recommended to start with the Fajr prayers and then proceed.
- If someone has Qaza prayers to perform and reaches the end of their life, they can instruct their heirs to give a donation from their estate equivalent to each missed prayer. This can be done by giving Sadaqah (charity) to the poor, either by donating wheat or its value. This is hoped to relieve the burden of the missed Fard prayers from the deceased.
Terms on this page
Related
- Making up missed fasts (qada) The rules for making up fasts that were missed or broken: when, in what order, and who owes the compensation (fidyah) instead.
- The prayer of a sick person Praying seated or lying down when standing, bowing (ruku) or prostration (sujood) are not possible, what to do if ability returns mid-prayer, and the case of a woman in labour.
- Forbidden times, disliked times, and combining two prayers The three times when prayer is forbidden, the times when it is merely disliked, and why two prayers cannot usually be combined.
- The prostration of forgetfulness (sajdah sahw) Two extra prostrations put right specific mistakes in prayer: the five general causes, the particular cases, and how to act on a doubt about your number of units (rak'ahs).