I didn’t offer my prayers when I was younger. Can I make them up now?Is there anything called “Qaza (qadha) umri”?

by Asma bint Shameem

ANSWER

If someone has missed a lot of fardh Salaah for no valid reason and it’s been a while, then there’s no making up for it. 

It’s too late and what’s gone is gone. 

And there’s NO SUCH THING as “Qaza umri”.

That’s because Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala has prescribed specific times for specific Salaah and once the time is gone, that Salaah is also gone. 

🍃Allaah says:

“Verily, As‑Salaah is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours” 

(Surah al-Nisaa :103)

Just think about it.

Allaah and His Messenger ﷺ have told us SPECIFIC times when a particular Salah will start and and when it will END. 

So how can any prayer that’s offered AFTER its time ends be valid? 

🍃Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen said: 

“If a person misses a Salaah without any Shar’ee excuse, then even if he prays that Salaah a THOUSAND times, he won’t be able to pray it.”

Subhaan Allaah!

🍃And Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen also said:

“Prayer is an act of worship that is to performed at specific times, and whoever does not do an act of worship that is tied to a specific time – such as prayer and fasting – until that time is over, with no excuse, then repents, does not have to make up what he omitted, because this act of worship has been limited by the Lawgiver to the beginning and ending of that time.” 

(Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/322)

📌 SO NOW WHAT TO DO?

🔺1.Make sincere, heartfelt Taubah to Allaah. 

🔺2. Have deep, DEEP regret in your heart for missing Salaah. 

🔺3. Make firm resolve never EVER to miss Salah again

🔺4. Be EXTREMELY VIGILANT about your Salaah from now onwards.

Guard it with your LIFE. 

🔺5. Do as many good deeds as possible in the hope that the good deeds will outweigh the bad deeds and cancel them out with the Mercy of Allaah. 

🍃 Allaah says:

“Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds” (Surah Hood :114)

📌BUT if you genuinely forgot, or overslept and missed the Salaah unintentionally, or perhaps you’re a doctor saving someone’s life or maybe a soldier or policeman on duty or something urgent like that, where you just cannot leave your job for Salaah, and you missed your prayer, then in that situation you should make it up as soon as possible. 

🍃The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, let him pray it when he remembers, and there is no other expiation for it but that.” 

(Al-Bukhaari 572, Muslim 1564)

Also notice that this “missing” of the Salaah would be something RARE, here and there, in certain specific situations ONLY. 

it’s not something ROUTINE. 

May Allaah enable us to be regular in our Salaah and enable us to guard it with our lives.

And Allaah knows best