Details of the Question
What is the correct method of offering Qada Prayer? In what way is it beneficial?
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The Answer
Dear Brother / Sister,
Performing
an obligatory prayer (salah) in time is called execution, performing it
after its specified time has elapsed is called compensation (qada);
performing a prayer again that has been spoiled is called repetition.
A
binding prayer (salah) is either intentionally not performed in its
specified time, or it isn’t performed in time because of an excuse. It
is a great sin not to perform intentionally a daily prayer in time. Man
must stay away from such an act. If such a mistake was made, the prayer
must be compensated at once to be completed with the duty. Because,
death can come at any moment. If death comes and catches man unprepared,
man will go to the hereafter under obligation.
Although
one gets free from the obligation when he compensates the prayer that
he has failed to perform in time, he must ask Allah for His forgiveness
for the sin he has committed. So one must both compensate that prayer
and also ask for Allah’s forgiveness.
Prayers that
haven’t been performed owing to forgetting, sleeping or a legitimate
excuse must be performed later at once when they are remembered or must
be performed after the legitimate excuse terminated.
There
are some excuses such that the prayers that weren’t performed in these
times aren’t to be compensated later. Women’s menstruation and period of
confinement after childbirth; epilepsy or insanity enduring in five
prayer times are from these kinds of excuses. In fact, it isn’t
religiously permissible for the women menstruating or for the women in
the period of confinement after childbirth to perform prayers; it is
forbidden for them.
Compensating later the five daily
prayers that haven’t been performed in time is obligatory, the salat al-
witr is compulsory and the sunnah is sunnah. Only the compensation of
the salat al- fajr’s sunnah is sunnah. In case salat al- fajr (the
morning prayer) haven’t been performed in time, then its sunnah is also
performed with its fard if it is performed before noon time. If the
compensation is left after noon time, then sunnah isn’t performed
anymore, but only the fard is performed.
Some sunnah of
the daily prayers that couldn’t been performed in time are compensated
by performing them later. For example, in case the former sunnah of the
salat al-zuhr (the prayer of the midday) couldn’t be performed to catch
the congregation, then it is performed separately after fard and the
latter two rak’ats of sunnah. If the former sunnah of the Friday prayer
couldn’t been performed before the Friday sermon, then it is compensated
by performing it after the two rak’ats of fard of the Friday prayer.
The former sunnahs of the mid-day prayer and the Friday prayer that have
been half finished by being performed as two rak’ats are also
compensated later as four rak’ats in the same way. The sunnahs of the
daily payers except these two sunnahs aren’t performed later if they
haven’t been performed in time. For example, the sunnahs of salat al-
asr (the mid-afternoon prayer) and salat al- isha’ (the prayer performed
two hours after sunset) aren’t performed later if they haven’t been
performed before fard.
The prayers of compensation will be
executed like the daily fards. Compensation for the prayer of morning
is performed as 2, of mid-day as 4, of mid-afternoon is as 4, of evening
as 3 and of isha’ as 4 and of witr as 3.
There is no
particular time or place for any of the compensation (qada) prayers.
This is, there is no restriction that the compensation prayer of
mid-afternoon is to be performed in the mid-afternoon. It can be
performed when ever you want. When performing the compensations of
prayers, there is no provision that compensation of mid-afternoon must
be performed before compensation of isha’ or compensation of mid-day
must be performed after the compensation of morning.
However,
one must be careful not to perform the compensations prayers during the
times called kerahat. It isn’t tolerated to perform a prayer in these
times: 45 min. of duration after the sun has risen, the 45 min. of
duration prior to the sunset and when the sun is just at the top (the 30
min. duration of time prior to mid-day prayer). Compensation prayers
can be performed in any time except these times.
How are the compensation prayers (qada prayers) performed?
One,
whose prayers that he hasn’t performed in time are 6 times or more,
doesn’t regard a sequence in performing them and also he doesn’t regard a
sequence between his compensation prayers and his daily prayers. He can
perform his compensation prayers in any time he wants and is convenient
except the three kerahat times when performing a prayer is religiously
reprehensible. Because, compensation prayers have no particular times.
For example, a mid-afternoon prayer that hasn’t been performed in time
can be performed after the prayer of isha’, and a prayer of isha that
hasn’t been performed in time can be performed after the prayer of
noon.
When performing compensation
prayers, there is no need to determine to which date they belong. Since
this is very difficult, it is convenient to apply the easier one. A
compensation prayer is performed by intending (making the niyyah) as the
following:
For example: “I
have intended to perform the first mid-day prayer I couldn’t perform in
time for the pleasure of Allah” or “I have intended to perform the last
mid-day prayer I couldn’t perform in time for the pleasure of Allah.”
Then, in this way the compensation prayers are begun to be performed
from the first one that hasn’t been performed in time or from the last
one that hasn’t been performed in time; in both ways, the previous
prayers are diminished by compensating them in an order.
Since it is easier, it is also adequate to intend as “I compensate a mid-day or a mid-afternoon prayer on me”.
When
performing a compensation prayer, first the adhan (the call to prayer)
and then kamet (a phrase recited before the fards indicating that the
prayer is beginning) are recited and then the prayer is performed. If
more than one compensation prayers will be performed, one adhan is
sufficient for all of them, but it is Sunnah to recite separate kamets
for every distinct fard.
One who
doesn’t know precisely how many compensation prayers he has to perform
behaves according to his superior prediction. If he can not predict the
number of his compensation prayers, he continues to perform compensation
prayers until he believes that he has no compensation prayers on him
any more.
Ones who have the
same prayers to be compensated (for example, all of them have to
compensate a mid-day prayer) can perform this prayer with congregation.
But, ones who have to compensate different prayers can not constitute a
unique congregation; they have to perform their prayers separately.
Compensation
prayers must be preferred to be performed at home if it is possible. If
these prayers were disregarded without an excuse, since this is a sin,
it is inconvenient to expose this.
Mehmed Paksu
Questions on Islam
http://questionsonislam.com/question/what-correct-method-offering-qada-prayer-what-way-it-beneficial
Picture: Mosque: Amir Timur Mosque in Samarkand – Uzbekistan
