Sunnah Daily سُنَّة

Missed prayers

Chapter 16 · about 10 min read

In short

  • If you missed a prayer because you slept or forgot, there is no sin. Pray it as soon as you remember.
  • If you missed prayers on purpose, repent to Allah. The four schools say you must also make them up. A smaller group of scholars say repent and pray many extra prayers instead.
  • If you owe months or years of prayers, do not panic. Make a simple plan, like one make-up prayer with each daily prayer, and keep going.
  • You do not make up sunnah prayers, prayers missed during a period, or anything from before you became Muslim.
  • Allah's door is always open. Starting again today is what matters most.
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

First, a word of hope

Many people reading this have missed prayers. Some missed one this morning. Some missed years. If that is you, please read this first:

Allah says: do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Allah forgives all sins1. And He says that for those who repent, believe and do good, He changes their bad deeds into good deeds2.

Allah speaks of people who neglected the prayer and followed their desires. Then straight away He adds: except those who repent, believe and do good. They will enter Paradise3.

Nabi ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgement, if someone's required prayers are lacking, Allah will say: look, does My servant have any extra prayers? And with them, what was missing is made up4.

The most important prayer is the next one. Before you think about the past, make sure you pray today's prayers on time. Then deal with the old ones, slowly and steadily.
Sources for this section
  1. 1(Quran 39:53)
  2. 2(Quran 25:70)
  3. 3(Quran 19:59-60)
  4. 4(Tirmidhi 413)

Missed by sleep or forgetting

Nabi ﷺ said: whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when they remember. There is nothing else to pay for it. Then he recited: pray to remember Me56.

He also said: there is no blame in sleeping. The blame is on someone who stays awake and lets a prayer go until the next one comes7.

  • There is no sin if you truly slept or forgot.
  • Pray it as soon as you wake up or remember. Do not wait for the same time the next day.
  • Take sensible steps so it does not keep happening: an alarm, an earlier bedtime, asking someone to wake you.

Nabi ﷺ himself once slept through Fajr with his Companions on a journey8.

The full story: the night everyone slept through Fajr

Nabi ﷺ and his Companions were traveling at night. They were very tired. Some of them said: we wish you would let us stop and rest for the last part of the night9.

Nabi ﷺ said: I am afraid you will sleep and miss Fajr. Bilal said: I will wake you up. So everyone lay down to sleep10.

Bilal stayed awake and prayed for as long as he could. Near dawn he sat leaning against his camel, facing the east to watch for the light. But sleep overcame him too11.

Nobody woke up. Not Nabi ﷺ, not Bilal, not anyone, until the sun was already up and shining on them12.

Nabi ﷺ woke up and said: Bilal, what about your promise? Bilal said: I have never slept like that before. Nabi ﷺ said: Allah took your souls when He wished and gave them back when He wished13.

He told them to move the camels on a little from that place14. Then he made wudu, Bilal called the adhan, and Nabi ﷺ prayed the two sunnah rakat of Fajr and then led them in Fajr, the same way he prayed it every day15.

Some of the Companions whispered: how do we make up for missing our prayer? Nabi ﷺ said: am I not an example for you? There is no blame in sleeping16.

What this teaches us

  • Oversleeping is not a sin. It happened to the best of people, with a plan in place.
  • Make a plan anyway. Nabi ﷺ was careful and put Bilal in charge of waking them. Use your alarm.
  • Pray as soon as you can. They did not wait for the next day's Fajr.
  • A missed Fajr can be prayed with its sunnah, and in jamaah, just like normal.
Sources for this section
  1. 5(Bukhari 597)
  2. 6(Quran 20:14)
  3. 7(Muslim 681)
  4. 8(Bukhari 595)
  5. 9(Bukhari 595)
  6. 10(Bukhari 595)
  7. 11(Muslim 680)
  8. 12(Muslim 680)
  9. 13(Bukhari 595)
  10. 14(Muslim 680)
  11. 15(Muslim 681)
  12. 16(Muslim 681)

Missed on purpose

Missing a prayer on purpose, with no excuse, is a serious sin. The first step is always tawbah (repentance): feel sorry, stop, and decide not to go back to it. But what about the prayers already missed?

  • The four schools, and most scholars: you must make them up. If someone who forgot must make up a prayer17, then someone who left it on purpose has even more reason to.
  • A smaller group of scholars, including Ibn Hazm and Ibn Taymiyyah: a prayer left on purpose until its time ended cannot be made up. The person should repent sincerely and pray many extra prayers, and Allah may accept that.

The first view is what most scholars teach, and it is the safer path. If you can make them up, do. If the number is huge and you feel it is too much, speak to a scholar you trust. Do not let it stop you praying today.

Sources for this section
  1. 17(Bukhari 597)

Making up years of prayers: a realistic plan

If you owe a lot of prayers, it can feel too big to start. It is not. Here is a simple way to do it.

Step 1: estimate the number

  • Think back to when you reached puberty. If you are not sure, many scholars use about age 15 as the latest.
  • Work out roughly how many days or years you did not pray, or prayed only sometimes.
  • Women: take out your period days and the bleeding after childbirth. You never make up those prayers18.
  • When unsure, round up. Pick a number you are confident covers it. A good guess is enough. Allah does not ask you for an exact count you cannot know.

Step 2: pick a steady pace

  • One make-up with each prayer. When you pray Dhuhr, pray one old Dhuhr too. That is one day's prayers made up every day.
  • Two with each prayer if you can manage it. Then one year is done in about six months.
  • Small and steady beats big and quitting. Choose a pace you can keep.

Step 3: keep a simple record

  • Use a notebook or a note on your phone. Tick off each day of prayers you finish.
  • For the intention, say in your heart: the first Fajr I owe (or the last). You do not need to know the date.

What you make up, and what you do not

Make upDo not need to make up
The five fard (required) prayersSunnah prayers, like the rakat before and after the fard
Hanafis: also Witr, because they count it as wajib (required)Prayers missed during a period or bleeding after childbirth
Anything from before you became Muslim

A make-up prayer is prayed just like the original: Fajr is two rakat, Maghrib three, the others four.

Use your sunnah time. Some scholars advise people with many missed prayers to use the time of their extra prayers for make-ups. Most still keep the two rakat before Fajr and the Witr, because Nabi ﷺ never left them.
Sources for this section
  1. 18(Muslim 335)

In what order?

When Nabi ﷺ and the Companions missed Asr on the day of the Battle of the Trench, he prayed Asr after sunset, and then Maghrib19. So the missed prayer came first, in its order.

SchoolKeeping the order
HanafiRequired if you owe fewer than six prayers: pray the missed ones first, in order, then the current one. With six or more, the order is no longer required
MalikiRequired for a small number (five or fewer): pray them before the current prayer. Larger numbers can be done over time
HanbaliRequired. But it drops if you forget, or if the current prayer's time is about to run out
Shafi'iRecommended, not required

All schools agree: if the time of the current prayer is about to end, pray the current one first, so you do not miss that one too.

In practice: if you missed just Fajr today, pray it before Dhuhr. If you owe years, pray each old prayer in its order (Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) as you go, and do not stress about it.

Sources for this section
  1. 19(Bukhari 596)

Times, and reciting aloud or quietly

Can I make up a prayer at any time?

  • Most scholars: yes. You can make up a fard prayer at any time, even after Fajr or Asr, because Nabi ﷺ said pray it when you remember20.
  • Hanafis: not during the three short times: while the sun is rising, when it is at its highest point, and while it is setting. Wait a few minutes. See the prayer times chapter.

Aloud or quietly?

  • Praying alone: you may recite quietly in any make-up prayer. Nothing is lost.
  • Leading others in a make-up: Hanafis and Malikis say recite it the way the original prayer is recited, so a Fajr is aloud even if made up in the day. Nabi ﷺ led the missed Fajr just as he prayed it every day21. Shafi'is and Hanbalis look at the time you pray it: aloud at night, quietly in the day.
Sources for this section
  1. 20(Bukhari 597)
  2. 21(Muslim 681)

New Muslims

If you became Muslim as an adult, you do not make up any prayers from before Islam. Not one.

Allah says: tell those who disbelieved that if they stop, what has passed will be forgiven22. Nabi ﷺ told Amr ibn al-As when he became Muslim: Islam wipes away what came before it23.

  • Your duty starts from the day you took your shahada.
  • If you missed prayers after that because you did not yet know how to pray, many scholars say you are excused for that early time. Ask a scholar you trust about your own case.
  • Learn one step at a time. The practice walk-through helps.
Sources for this section
  1. 22(Quran 8:38)
  2. 23(Muslim 121)

Common questions

I was stuck at work and Asr time ran out. Is that a sin?
Pray it as soon as you can. Then plan ahead: most jobs allow a five minute break. If the work truly makes it impossible, speak to a scholar about joining prayers. Do not make missing a habit.
I missed prayers while traveling. Do I make them up short?
Hanafis and Malikis say yes, pray them short (two rakat), even at home. Shafi'is and Hanbalis say if you make them up at home, pray them in full.
I owe so many prayers that I will never finish. What if I die first?
Allah knows your intention and your effort. Someone who dies on the way to fixing things is in a good place, in shaa Allah. Hanafi scholars also advise writing in your will that fidyah (food for the poor) be given for any prayers left.
Can I pray all of yesterday's missed prayers in one go?
Yes. Pray them one after the other, in order: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha.
My period started after the prayer time began, and I had not prayed yet.
Scholars differ. Shafi'is and Hanbalis say make that one prayer up after your period. Hanafis and Malikis say you do not need to. See the prayer times chapter.
Do I need to make up prayers I missed as a child?
No. Prayer becomes a duty at puberty. Before that, nothing is owed.
Can I make up missed prayers in jamaah with my friend who also owes them?
Yes. Nabi ﷺ led the Companions in the Fajr they had slept through24. If you both owe the same prayer, one of you can lead.
Sources for this section
  1. 24(Bukhari 595)
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

This guide teaches what most scholars hold and notes where the four schools differ. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust or your local masjid.

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