Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
1379. A person who does not offer his daily prayers within time,
should offer qadha prayers even if he slept, or was unconscious during the
entire time prescribed for the prayers.
Similarly, qadha must be given for
all other obligatory prayers, if they are not offered within time, and as an
obligatory precaution, this includes those namaz which one makes obligatory upon
oneself by Nazr, to offer within a fixed period. But the prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr
and Eid-ul-Adha have no qadha, and the ladies who have to leave out daily
prayers, or any other obligatory prayers, due to Haidh or Nifas, do not have to
give any qadha for them.
1380. If a person realises after the time for the prayers has lapsed,
that the prayers which he offered in time was void, he should perform its qadha
prayers.
1381. A person having qadha prayers on him, should not be careless
about offering them, although it is not obligatory for him to offer it
immediately.
1382. A person who has qadha prayers on him, can offer Mustahab
prayers.
1383. If a person suspects that he might have qadha on him, or that
the prayers offered by him were not valid, it is Mustahab that, as a measure of
precaution, he should offer their qadha.
1384. It is not necessary to maintain sequential order in the offering
of qadha, except in the case of prayers for which order has been prescribed,
like, Zuhr and Asr prayers or Maghrib and Isha prayers of the same day. However,
it is better to maintain order in other qadha prayers also.
1385. If a person wishes to offer some qadha prayers for other than
the daily prayer, like Namaz-e-Ayaat, or, for example, if he wishes to offer one
daily prayer and a few other prayers, it is not necessary to maintain order in
offering them.
1386. If a person forgets the sequential order of the prayers which he
has not offered, it is better that he should offer them in such a way, that he
would be sure that he has offered them in the order in which they lapsed.
For example, if it is obligatory for him to offer one qadha prayer of Zuhr
and one of Maghrib, and he does not know which of them lapsed first he should
first offer one qadha for Maghrib and thereafter one Zuhr prayer, and then one
Maghrib once again, or he should offer one Zuhr prayer and then one Maghrib
prayer, and then one Zuhr prayer once again, so that he is sure that the qadha
prayers which lapsed first has been offered first.
1387. If Zuhr prayers of one day and Asr prayers of another day, or
two Zuhr prayers or two Asr prayers of a person becomes qadha, and if he does
not know which of them lapsed first, it will be sufficient if he offers two
prayers of four Rak'ats each, with the niyyat that the first is the qadha prayer
of the first day, and the second is the qadha prayer of the second day.
1388. If one Zuhr prayer and one Isha prayer, or one Asr prayer and
one Isha prayer of a person become qadha, and he does not know which of them
lapsed first, it is better that he should perform their qadha in a way that
would ensure that he has maintained the order.
For example, if one Zuhr
prayer and one Isha prayer have lapsed, and he does not know which of them
lapsed first, he should first offer one Zuhr prayer, followed by one Isha
prayer, and then one Zuhr prayer once again, or he should first offer one Isha
prayer, and thereafter one Zuhr prayer, and then one Isha prayer once again.
1389. If a person knows that he has not offered a prayer consisting of
four Rak'ats, but does not know whether it is Zuhr or Isha, it will be
sufficient to offer a four Rak'at prayer with the niyyat of offering qadha
prayer for the namaz not offered. And as far as reciting loudly or silently, he
will have an option.
1390. If five prayers of a person have lapsed one after another, and
he does not know which of them was first, he should offer nine prayers in order.
For example, he commences with Fajr prayer and after having offered Zuhr, Asr,
Maghrib and Isha prayers, he should offer again Fajr, Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib
prayers. This way he will ensure the requisite order.
1391. If a person knows that one prayer on each day has lapsed, but
does not know its order, it is better that he should offer daily prayers of five
days; and if his six prayers of six days have lapsed, he should offer six days'
daily prayers.
Thus for every qadha prayer of an additional day, he should
offer an additional day's prayers, so that he may become sure that he has
offered the prayers in the same order in which they had become qadha. For
example, if he has not offered seven prayers of seven days, he should perform
qadha prayers of seven days.
1392. If a person has a number of Fajr or Zuhr prayers qadha on him,
and he does not know their exact number, or has forgotten, for example, if he
does not know whether they were three, four or five prayers, it will be
sufficient if he offers the smaller number.
However, it is better that he
should offer enough qadha to ensure, that he has offered all of them. For
example, if he has forgotten how many Fajr prayers of his have become qadha and
is certain that they were not more than ten, he should, as a measure of
precaution, offer ten Fajr prayers.
1393. If a person has only one qadha prayer of previous days, it is
better that he should offer it first, and then start offering prayers of that
day, if the time of Fadhilat is not lost. And if he has no pending qadha of
previous days, but has one or more of the same day, it is better that he should
offer qadha prayers of that day before offering the present obligatory prayers,
provided that, in so doing, the time of Fadhilat is not lost.
1394. If a person remembers during the prayers that one or more
prayers of that same day have become qadha, or that he has to offer only one
qadha prayer of the previous days, he should convert his niyyat to qadha
prayers, provided that:
(a) time allows,
(b) converting the niyyat is possible,
(c) and the time of Fadhilat is not lost.
For example, if he remembers before Ruku of the third Rak'at in Zuhr that his
Fajr prayers was qadha, and if the time for Zuhr is not limited, he should
convert his niyyat to Fajr prayer, and complete it with two Rak'ats, and then
offer Zuhr prayer. But, if the time is limited, or if he cannot convert his
niyyat to qadha like, when he remembers in Ruku of the third Rak'at of Zuhr,
that he has not offered the Fajr prayers, and by converting the niyyat to Fajr
prayers, one Ruku which is a Rukn will increase, he should not change his niyyat
to the qadha Fajr prayer.
1395. If a person is required to offer a number of qadha prayers of
previous days, together with one or more prayers of that very day, and if he
does not have time to offer qadha of all of them, or does not wish to offer
qadha of all of them on that day, it is Mustahab to offer the qadha of that day
before offering ada (the same day's) prayers, and it is better that after
offering previous qadha, he should once again give qadha of that day, which he
had offered earlier.
1396. As long as a person is alive, no other person can offer his
qadha on his behalf, even if he himself is unable to offer them.
1397. Qadha prayers can be offered in congregation, irrespective of
whether the prayers of the Imam are ada or qadha. And it is not necessary that
both of them should be offering the same prayers; there is no harm if a person
offers qadha Fajr prayers with the Zuhr prayer or Asr prayers of the Imam.
1398. It is recommended that a discerning child, one who can
distinguish between good and evil, is made to form the habit of praying
regularly, and to perform other acts of worship. In fact, it is Mustahab that he
is encouraged to offer qadha prayers.