The Legal Status of Qada Umri
Qada Umri, meaning making up prayers missed over many years at a later time, has no proof in the Shari’ah. For this reason, this practice is counted as an innovation (bid’ah).
Fadilat al-Shaykh Abd al-Aziz bin Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
‘‘When a person has left prayer for many years and then repents and starts offering them regularly, it is not obligatory for him to make up the prayers he left, because if such a condition were imposed, many people would become disheartened from repentance. Rather, the ruling for the one who repents is that he should now fully guard his future prayers and perform voluntary prayers abundantly.’’
What should be done if prayers are missed due to compulsion?
Sometimes, due to war, travel or some other compulsion, prayer cannot be performed on time. There are clear ahadith regarding this.
Performing the Asr prayer after sunset:
Sayyidina Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrates that:
‘‘On the day of the Battle of the Trench, Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came after sunset, cursing the Quraysh, and said: O Messenger of Allah! I have not offered the Asr prayer until the sun has set.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘‘By Allah, I too have not offered the Asr prayer.’’
Then we all came to the place Buthan, performed wudu, and first offered the Asr prayer after sunset, then offered the Maghrib prayer.’’
This shows that even if a prayer becomes qada, its sequence should still be maintained.
The Prophet ﷺ’s practice when four prayers of one day were missed:
Sayyidina Abdullah bin Masud (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
‘‘On the day of the Battle of the Trench, the polytheists kept the Messenger of Allah ﷺ so busy that four of his prayers were missed, until a part of the night had passed.
Then he ordered Sayyidina Bilal to call the adhan, then the iqamah was called and he led the Zuhr prayer, then the iqamah was called and he led the Asr prayer, then the iqamah was called and he led the Maghrib prayer, then the iqamah was called and he led the Isha prayer.’’
This hadith also shows that it is recommended to give the adhan and iqamah for making up a missed prayer.
Performing prayers in sequence and the ruling on differing intentions
A questioner asked Fadilat al-Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Salih al-Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him):
‘‘If someone forgets the Asr prayer and remembers it at the time of Maghrib, and performs the Asr prayer after Maghrib, what is the ruling?’’
The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) replied:
‘‘When the prayers of the Prophet ﷺ were missed during the Battle of the Trench on one day, he performed them in sequence.
Therefore, when you came to the mosque and the people were offering the Maghrib prayer, you should have joined them with the intention of the Asr prayer and completed the rest of the prayer after the imam’s salam,
so the people’s prayer would be Maghrib and your prayer would be Asr.
And it makes no difference that the intentions of the imam and the followers are different, because the actions are similar.’’
The method of prayer in areas with long days or nights
There are areas where the days or nights are very long, such as regions near the North or South Pole. What is the ruling on prayer times there?
The hadith related to the time of the Dajjal:
Sayyidina Nawwas bin Sam’an (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
‘‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the Dajjal will remain on earth for forty days:
➊ One day will be like a year,
➋ one day will be like a month,
➌ one day will be like a week,
➍ and the remaining days will be like ordinary days.’’
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said:
‘‘On the day that is like a year, will it be enough to offer only one prayer?’’
The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘‘No, rather estimate the prayers and offer them.’’
This hadith shows that where the day or night is very long and it is not possible to determine the time, the five daily prayers should be offered according to estimation.
