What if I missed a salah?

Prayer is the pillar of religion, and Allah has commanded it to be established and preserved anywhere and anytime no matter what, whether in health or sickness, residence or travel, and peace or war. He specified for each prayer a time that it is not right to pass without doing it, and thus the obligation is discharged.

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As for negligence in it by delaying it beyond its time and not performing it, Allah Almighty threatened the doing this with woe: “So woe to those who pray But who are heedless of their prayer -”

And he made it the first reason to enter the Fire, so he said:

“[And asking them], “What put you into Saqar? They will say, “We were not of those who prayed,”

At present, it is common among Muslims to leave prayer altogether and to delay it beyond its time, for many reasons, including; weak faith in souls, lack of realization of its importance and truth, excessive immersion in the world, preoccupation with its works and distractions, lack of oversight and self-accountability.

Missed a Salah? Here is what you can do!

The Quran mentions the obligation of subsequent fulfillment and compensation for missed prayers in Surah Ta-Ha, verse 14:[5]: “Indeed I am Allah —there is no god except Me. So worship Me, and maintain the prayer for My remembrance”.

The prophet also said: “Whoever falls asleep from a prayer or forgot it, let him pray it if he remembered it.“

The agreement of three of the many Imams of the Sunni schools (madhahib) of jurisprudence states that making up obligatory prayers whose legal time has passed is required immediately, regardless of whether the missed prayer was skipped because of an excuse that has not been forfeited and cancelled for prayer or it was missed without an initially acceptable excuse.

It is not permitted to put off making up missed prayers unless there is a legitimate reason, such as working to support oneself, learning the knowledge that a Muslim is required to study in-kind for himself, or getting the food and sleep needed to maintain one’s physical well-being.

Since it is a major sin in Islam to delay the prayer until it is too late, the expiation for this misconduct must include more than just performing the missed rak’ahs; it must also have accurate and sincere repentance from guilt for skipping and wasting the required prayer.

It is also necessary to make up for the obligatory prayer because one of the requirements of sincere repentance is that there should be a cessation from the sin committed, and the repentant who wastes the prayer without making it up is considered to be unquestionable from his great sin. Likewise, the sin and debt of the missed prayer do not rise by merely moral repentance without actually performing its rak’ahs.

Sleep, forgetfulness, and negligence from the beginning of the time are considered acceptable justifications and excuses for postponing prayer, according to Muslim jurists, even if they result from the worshiper’s shortcomings.

The missed prayers are made up by the person who has no excuses to waive them, unlike menstruating women and postpartum women, who do not have to make up for what they missed while menstruating and postpartum after the end of these times. In the same way, the insane and the passed out do not make up for the missed prayers. The apostate, if he returns to Islam, is like the original infidel (kafir), who does not have to make up for what he missed.

5 tips for maintaining performing Salah

1. Recognize the significance of Salah

One must realize that Allah (SWT) did not command Salah as a way to burden or inconvenience people, but rather as a way to aid and direct them. Salah is how one establishes a strong relationship with Allah (SWT) that transcends words and oaths. Every Muslim must perform daily prayers, and there is no room for willful evasion of this obligation. Make sure you understand the significance of offering Salah and being consistent in your prayers because the first thing that will be asked of each one of us on the Day of Judgment is whether or not we offer Salah.

2. Set many reminders before each prayer

We all own phones and tablets in the high-tech world, which have simple alarm applications, etc. Don’t “snooze” the prayers; if you do, you’ll probably forget and skip the prayer entirely. Instead, use prayer apps like Athan that sound an alarm for each of the five prayers. To ensure that you get your Salah during the day’s hustle and bustle, place sticky notes in the areas of your home or workplace that you use the most.

3. Organize your day according to prayer times

We frequently lose sight of the bigger picture of what will matter in the permanent Hereafter because we are so caught up in the rat race of this transient world. Why we place worldly concerns above our Salah is the question we need to be asking ourselves. The five daily prayers should be the primary concern of each person’s day because, ultimately, they will matter in the Hereafter rather than the business meetings, shopping trips, social engagements, etc. A regular prayer schedule and preserving salah keep one on the right path.

4. Keep in mind that five minutes won't hurt!

Remind yourself that it will only take 5 to 10 minutes (at most) to offer your Salah if you need to, but you are feeling lazy. When you think about it, that is nothing. While we frequently waste hours on pointless activities like social media browsing, TV watching, and other such pastimes, taking 5 minutes to offer Salah may seem like a long time, but it isn’t. Be proactive and constantly remind yourself that, insha’Allah, those five minutes will pay off both in this life and the next.

5. Make dua and supplicate to Allah (SWT) to ease it for you

Continue making sincere dua and requesting Allah’s (SWT) assistance if you feel you can’t get into the rhythm of the five daily prayers and you keep missing them. Don’t give up, and if you call on Allah (SWT), He will answer to give you the fortitude and drive to develop the practice of regular prayer.

Don’t give up on yourself, keep trying to perform all of the five prayers, and surely your diligence and attempts will not be wasted.

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