Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > Prayer: status, times and making up > The times of the five prayers and making up
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Updated on 24 September 2026 at 7:46 PM
This part completes the general rulings on prayer. It covers the end of the time of isha, the moment when the obligation of prayer attaches (at the start or the end of the time), the times in which prayer is disliked or forbidden, making up missed prayers in those times, the order between missed prayers and the prayer of the time, the immediacy of making up, missing the congregational prayer, and following an imam who is performing a different prayer. The positions of the four schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) are reported with their evidence and classical references.
It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) "used to pray isha after the passing of the first third of the night". If the twilight (shafaq) were the white glow, he would not have delayed it to that moment; he would rather have prayed at the very start of the time, for the whiteness remains until a third of the night, especially in summer.
As for the end of the time of isha, Abu Bakr al-Jassas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the jurists do not disagree that it does not lapse except with the rising of dawn (fajr), and that whoever reaches that time, or embraces Islam, before the rise of dawn owes the last isha prayer; the same applies to the woman who becomes pure from menstruation before that moment (Ahkam al-Quran, 3/263-264).
This is the time of permissibility or necessity according to the scholars, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
There is no shortcoming in sleep; shortcoming falls only upon the one who does not pray a prayer until the time of the next prayer comes.Narrated by Muslim (681)
The prayer that follows isha is fajr, and fajr differs by consensus: the last of its time is the rising of the sun.
As for the time of choice, Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad, according to the well-known position reported from them, placed it at a third of the night, relying on the hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him) leading the Prophet (peace be upon him) in prayer on the second day, at a third of the night; Jibril said: "The time is what lies between these two moments" (an authentic hadith, mentioned earlier).
The companions of Abu Hanifa differed: some said "until before a third of the night", some "until a third of the night", and some "until the middle of the night", which is the second position of al-Shafi'i and Ahmad, relying on the hadith of Abdallah ibn Umar:
And the isha prayer fell at the middle of the night.Narrated by Muslim (612)
and the hadith of Anas:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) delayed the isha prayer until the middle of the night.Narrated by al-Bukhari (546)
as well as the letter of Umar ibn al-Khattab to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari:
Pray isha so long as you are ahead of a third of the night; if you delay it, then until the middle of the night; and do not be among the heedless.An authentic hadith: narrated by Malik in the Muwatta (8) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra (1/445)
(The point is also discussed in: Maani al-Athar 1/367; Bada'i al-Sana'i 1/124; al-Durr al-Mukhtar 1/461; al-Mabsut 1/146; al-Istidhkar 1/30; al-Tamhid 1/91-92; al-Taj wa-l-Iklil 1/396; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/154; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/141; al-Majmu' 3/41; Sharh Muslim 5/98; Majmu' al-Fatawa 22/93; al-Mughni 1/482; al-Rawd al-Murbi' 1/136; al-Ifsah 1/122-123.)
The jurists differed: does the prayer become obligatory at the start of its time, with an expanded obligation, or at the end of the time?
The Hanafis, according to the sound position among them, hold that the prayer becomes obligatory at the end of the time, when there remains only the duration that suffices for that prayer; for what precedes may lawfully be left vacant, so the time does not carry the quality of obligation there. Some of them said: it does not become obligatory until there remains of the time the duration of a single takbir (opening formula).
The evidence: a person has a choice at the start of the time, between performing and delaying; obligation excludes choice, and choice excludes obligation; were he to die within the time, he would meet Allah with nothing against him. This proves that the obligation attaches to the end of the time. Accordingly, if a woman menstruates after the time has entered, before it leaves with a duration sufficient for the prayer, and she has not prayed it, no makeup is due from her upon purification (al-Mabsut 1/238; Maani al-Athar 1/316; Umdat al-Qari 5/27; Hashiyat al-Tahtawi 1/116).
The majority of jurists, the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, hold that the prayer becomes obligatory at the start of the time with an expanded obligation; for the divine command concerns its beginning, the command entails obligation, and the start of the time is the cause of the obligation: the effect is thereby established as with other causes. If one becomes insane after part of the time has entered while he was able to pray, or the woman menstruates, makeup is due; for reaching part of the time is what establishes the prayer, as with the end of the time. However, one who dies in the middle of the time without praying it bears no sin (al-Kafi by Ibn Abd al-Barr 1/63; al-Tamhid 3/292; al-Dhakhira 2/22; al-Hawi al-Kabir 2/31; al-Majmu' 3/49-51; al-Mughni 1/468; al-Ifsah 1/119; al-Kafi 1/98; Sharh al-Umda 4/228; Sharh al-Zarkashi 1/143; Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab 2/255-256; Fath al-Bari 2/21).
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our school holds that the prayer becomes obligatory at the start of the time with an expanded obligation, and that the obligation is established by the ability to perform it; Malik, Ahmad, Dawud and most scholars said this, and al-Mawardi reported it from most jurists.
Several narrations are reported from Abu Hanifa:
If he prays at the start of the time, most of Abu Hanifa's companions say his prayer is suspended (mawqufa): if he remains a legally responsible person until the end of the time, it is confirmed as having been performed as an obligation; otherwise it counts as a voluntary prayer (nafl). Al-Karkhi among them said: it falls as voluntary; if he remains responsible until the end of the time, this voluntary prayer prevents the obligation from becoming due.
The argument given in support of Abu Hanifa: were it obligatory at the start of the time, delaying it would not be permitted, like the fast of Ramadan; for the time of prayer is like the year of zakat: one may act at its start as at its end, and zakat becomes due at the end of the year; so too the prayer. And one who enters the time of a prayer while resident, with enough of it passing to suffice the prayer, then travels, may perform that prayer shortened; were it obligatory at the start of the time, shortening would not be permitted, as with one who travels after the time. And a person has the choice between performing it at the start of the time and leaving it; if he performs it, it is voluntary.
Our companions [the Shafi'is] argued by the word of Allah, the Most High:
"Establish prayer at the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night"
Surah al-Isra, 78
The "decline" (duluk) means the passing of midday (zawal). It is a command, and a command entails obligation. And from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
What will you do when you live among people who delay the prayer from its time? He said: What do you order me? He said: "Pray the prayer in its time, then go to your need; if the prayer is called while you are in the mosque, pray it."Narrated by Muslim
The meaning: they delay the prayer from the start of its time, not from the whole of the time; and "pray the prayer in its time" means at the start of its time. Prayer is an act of worship sought for itself, binding upon the body with no link to wealth, valid throughout all times: every time is therefore both a time of its validity and a time of its obligation, like fasting.
The answer to their objection, "were it obligatory at the start, delaying it would not be permitted, like the fast of Ramadan", is that obligation is of two kinds: expanded and restricted. The expanded obligation allows acting at any moment within the delimited period; prayer is of this kind. The restricted obligation requires immediacy; of this kind is the fast of Ramadan for the resident.
The answer to their analogy with the year of zakat: advancing zakat is a concession granted for need; otherwise, the rule for acts of worship is that they are not advanced. Another answer: zakat becomes due only after the year has fully elapsed, by consensus, while we all agree that the prayer becomes due within its time; but we say "at its start" and they say "at its end": the analogy therefore does not hold.
The answer to the question of the traveler: we have a divergence there; according to one view, al-Muzani and Ibn Surayj said shortening is not permitted; according to the correct transmitted position and the view of most of our companions, it is permitted. Shortening is a characteristic of the prayer itself: the state of the prayer is considered at the moment of performance, not at the moment of obligation. Hence if a prayer escaped someone while he was able to stand, then he became unable, he prays it sitting with tayammum and it suffices him; and if it escaped him while he was unable and he makes it up while able, standing and ablution are due from him.
The answer to their analogy with voluntary prayers: they may be abandoned without restriction, while the prescribed prayers cannot be abandoned by consensus. And if someone vows two rak'ahs on a given day, he may pray them at any time of that day; were he to pray them at its start, they would fall as an obligation (al-Majmu' 3/49-51).
The reason (for the dislike of these times) is that drowsiness prevails during them; one drives it away with voluntary prayers, for fear of losing ablution and having to step over people; others say otherwise. According to the correct position, the rest of the disliked times do not extend to the time of zawal (midday decline) on Friday, since this meaning is absent; and the absence of dislike at the zawal on Friday applies to everyone, even to one who does not attend the Friday prayer, according to the correct position.
As for Mecca, may Allah increase it in honor, no prayer there is disliked in any of these times, whether the prayer of tawaf or another, according to the correct position, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Do not prevent anyone from circumambulating this House and praying at any hour he wishes, by night or by day.An authentic hadith: narrated by Abu Dawud (1894), al-Tirmidhi (868) and al-Nasa'i (585)
The Hanafis and the Hanbalis, within the madhhab, hold that prayer at midday is disliked absolutely, with a dislike close to prohibition, based on the hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him):
There are three hours in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade us to pray or to bury our dead: when the sun rises blazing until it rises high; when it stands at the zenith of noon until it inclines; and when it hastens toward its setting until it sets.Narrated by Muslim (931)
for it is a time of prohibition: the Friday prayer and others are equal in it. (The meaning of "hastens toward its setting" is that it inclines toward sunset.)
Second, prayer after asr: the jurists differed over prayer performed after asr and before sunset: is it permitted or not?
The four schools, the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, within the madhhab, hold that voluntary prayer after asr is disliked, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
There is no prayer after the asr prayer until the sun sets.Narrated by Muslim (827)
and the hadith of Abu Basrah:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed asr with us at al-Mukhammas, then said: This prayer was presented to those before you, and they neglected it; whoever preserves it will have his reward twice over; and there is no prayer after it until the witness rises. The witness is the star.Narrated by Muslim (830)
The prohibition is, with the Hanafis and Malikis, a prohibition of dislike; with the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, a prohibition of prohibition (tahrim).
It is reported from Imam Ahmad that he said: we do not do it, and we do not censure the one who does; relying on the words of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) never left, in my presence, the two rak'ahs after asr.Narrated by al-Bukhari (566) and Muslim (935)
This applies, in his view, to the prayer without a cause (ordinary voluntary prayers); as for making up the regular sunnahs (the voluntary prayers attached to the obligatory prayers) after asr, the correct position is that it is permitted (see: Bada'i al-Sana'i 2/292-296; al-Hidayah 1/40; Tuhfat al-Fuqaha 1/106; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/147-149; Kifayat al-Akhyar 174-175; Sharh Muslim 6/103-106; al-Mughni 2/299, 311; al-Tahqiq by Ibn al-Jawzi 1/482; Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/450-451; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat 1/257; al-Insaf 2/201-204).
Imam Malik, in one narration reported from him, permits the voluntary prayers in these prohibited times, except the prayer of greeting the mosque. The Shafi'is and Ahmad, in one narration, permit the prayer with a cause (dhat sabab), such as greeting the mosque, the prostration of recitation, the prostration of gratitude and the eclipse prayer, based on his saying (peace be upon him):
When one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit until he prays two rak'ahs.Narrated by al-Bukhari (433, 1110) and Muslim (714)
and he said concerning the eclipse:
When you see it, pray.Narrated by al-Bukhari (993) and Muslim (904)
The latter is specific to that prayer: it therefore takes precedence over the general prohibition covering all prayers, and it is a prayer with a cause, resembling what is established as permissible (see: Maani al-Athar 2/292-293; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/149; Kifayat al-Akhyar 175-176; al-Mughni 2/314; Sharh Muslim 6/105; al-Ifsah 1/201).
Making up missed obligations during the prohibited times: the Hanafis hold that making up missed prayers is not permitted in the three times of the hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir cited above, except the asr of that same day, which is prayed before sunset; for the prohibition is general and covers obligations as well as others; and because when the Prophet (peace be upon him) overslept the fajr prayer until after sunrise, he delayed it until the sun turned white (narrated by al-Bukhari 1/344 and Muslim 680); and because it is a prayer: it is therefore not permitted in these times, like the voluntary prayers. There is also the report of Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
He slept in the early afternoon, woke at the moment of sunset, waited until the sun had set, then prayed.Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah (2/66) and Abd al-Razzaq in the Musannaf (2250), with an authentic chain
The majority of jurists, the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, permit making up missed obligations in all the prohibited times and outside them, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Whoever sleeps over a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.Narrated by al-Bukhari (597) and Muslim (314)
and the hadith of Abu Qatadah:
Shortcoming lies only in wakefulness, upon the one who does not pray the prayer until the time of the next comes; whoever does that, let him pray it when he becomes aware of it.An authentic hadith: narrated by Muslim, mentioned earlier
The report of prohibition is specific: to making up in the two last times, and to the asr of its day; the disputed case is therefore analogized to that specification. And the hadith of Abu Qatadah indicates the permissibility of delay, not the prohibition of the act (see: Maani al-Athar 2/294; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/149; Kifayat al-Akhyar 176; al-Mughni 2/300; al-Ifsah 1/200-201).
If the sun rises while a man is in the fajr prayer: the jurists differed over the worshipper upon whom the sun rises during the fajr prayer.
The Hanafis hold that if the sun rises upon a man during the fajr prayer, his prayer is nullified, for it has fallen into a prohibited time; unlike asr: if the sun sets while he is praying asr, his prayer is not nullified.
The difference between the two cases is that the cause in asr is the end of the time, which is the moment of change (taghayyur), a deficient moment: performing it in that moment is performing it as the obligation requires. The time of fajr, on the other hand, is complete as a whole: the prayer became obligatory there, so performing it after sunrise falls into a prohibited time.
Accordingly, one who makes up a night prayer by day recites aloud, and one who makes up a day prayer by night recites quietly. The Shafi'is, according to the most correct position among them, and the Hanbalis, take the time of the makeup as the criterion for reciting aloud or quietly: one who makes up a night prayer during the day recites quietly, and one who makes up a day prayer during the night recites aloud.
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the fajr prayer, though a daytime prayer, is recited aloud in makeup; its time has, for recitation, the ruling of night; their general statement is interpreted in this sense (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah 1/121; Majma al-Anhur 1/164; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/241; Rawdat al-Talibin 1/269; al-Majmu' 3/345; Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/343-344; al-Mughni 2/122-123; al-Kafi by Ibn Abd al-Barr 1/53).
The order between missed prayers and the current obligation: the jurists differed concerning one who owes missed prayers: must he observe the order between them and the prayer of the time, so that he may not, for example, pray asr before dhuhr? Or may he pray asr and then dhuhr?
The majority of jurists, the Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis, hold that the order between missed prayers and the prayer of the time is obligatory, based on what Jabir ibn Abdallah (may Allah be pleased with both) reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came on the day of the Trench (al-Khandaq) after sunset; he began cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh and said: O Messenger of Allah, I almost failed to pray asr, the sun was about to set. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied:
By Allah, I have not prayed it. We went to But-han; he performed ablution for the prayer and we performed ours, and he prayed asr after the sun had set, then prayed maghrib after it.Narrated by al-Bukhari (598) and Muslim (209)
And from Abu Sa'id: we were prevented from praying on the day of the Trench until after maghrib, in the dark of night, until came the word of Allah, the Most High:
"And Allah sufficed the believers in battle, and Allah is Ever Powerful, Ever Mighty"
Surah Luqman, 25
He said: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called Bilal, who pronounced the iqamah for dhuhr and they prayed it, performed with care as he used to pray it in its time; then he ordered the iqamah of asr and they prayed it with care as he used to pray it in its time; then the iqamah of maghrib and they prayed it with care as he used to pray it in its time. He said: and that was before Allah revealed, concerning the prayer of fear:
"If you fear, then pray on foot or riding"
Surah al-Baqarah, 239
(an authentic hadith: narrated by al-Nasa'i (1/297), Ahmad (3/25) and Ibn Khuzaymah (996)). The Prophet (peace be upon him) thus made up the prayers in order, and said: "Pray as you have seen me pray."
Imam Ahmad also narrated, through his chain, from Abu Jum'ah Habib ibn Siba', who had met the Prophet (peace be upon him), that in the year of the Confederates the Prophet prayed maghrib and said when finishing:
Does anyone among you know that I have prayed asr? They said: O Messenger of Allah, you have not prayed it. He ordered the muezzin to pronounce the iqamah, prayed asr, then repeated maghrib.A weak hadith: narrated by Imam Ahmad (4/106); Ibn Abd al-Barr says in al-Tamhid (6/409): it is a munkar hadith, reported by Ibn Lahi'ah from unknown narrators
This indicates the obligation of the order.
It is also reported from Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
Whoever forgets a prayer and remembers it only with the imam, let him pray with the imam; when he has finished his prayer, let him repeat the prayer he forgot, then repeat the prayer he prayed with the imam.Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra (2/221), who said: Abu Ibrahim al-Turjumani alone reported it attributed to the Prophet, while the truth is that it is the statement of Ibn Umar, attributed to him; and by al-Daraqutni (1/421), who said: Sa'id ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Jumahi attributed it to the Prophet and erred; if he retracted, he was rightly guided
For the two are prayers with fixed times: the order is therefore due in them, as with the two missed prayers made up together. Moreover, he made the time of remembering the time of the missed prayer: performing the prayer of the time before making up the missed one amounts to performing it before its time, which is not permitted.
This being established, the order between the missed prayer and the prayer of the time is obligatory, however numerous they are, according to the Hanbalis (al-Mughni 2/161; Matalib Uli al-Nuha 1/321). With the Hanafis and Malikis, if the missed prayers are fewer than a day and a night, the missed prayers must be performed before the prayer of the time (Bada'i al-Sana'i 1/420-421; al-Mabsut 1/154; Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-Ulama 1/286; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq 1/186; Sharh Fath al-Qadir 1/485-486; al-Binayah 2/582, 592; al-Taj wa-l-Iklil 2/10-12; al-Sharh al-Kabir 1/265; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/242-243; al-Mudawwanah 1/130-132; Mukhtasar Khalafiyat al-Bayhaqi 2/148; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/258-259).
Imam Malik said: whoever forgets one, two or three prayers and remembers them before the fajr prayer, if they are few, prays them before fajr, even if the time of fajr elapses in doing so, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Whoever sleeps over a prayer or forgets it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers it.Narrated by al-Bukhari (572) and Muslim (684)
If they are many prayers, he begins with fajr, then prays what he had forgotten. If he had already prayed fajr and then remembers many prayers, he prays what he had forgotten; if he finishes and some time remains, he prays fajr; and if he does not finish before the time of the prayer elapses, he does not repeat fajr, its time having passed (al-Mudawwanah al-Kubra 1/130-132).
The Shafi'is hold that the order in makeup, between the current obligation and the prayer to be made up, is recommended. If the time of a current prayer enters and he remembers a missed prayer: if the time of the current prayer is ample, beginning with the missed one is recommended; if it is tight, performing the current prayer first is obligatory. The reason for preferring the missed one is not to treat it lightly by delaying it. If he remembers the missed prayer after starting the current one, he completes it, whether the time is tight or ample, then makes up the missed one; it is recommended to repeat the current prayer afterwards (al-Wasit 2/249; Rawdat al-Talibin 1/269; Mukhtasar Khalafiyat al-Bayhaqi 2/148).
The men of knowledge differed concerning the man who is in prayer and remembers that an earlier prayer is due from him.
The Shafi'is hold that he prays the prayer he has entered, then makes up the missed one; he does not have to repeat the prayer he prayed while remembering the missed one.
The Malikis hold that if he remembers the missed one before the tashahhud, or before sitting for the length of a tashahhud, he abandons this one and returns to that one; if he remembers afterwards, he completes this one and then returns to that one.
It is established from Ibn Umar that he said:
Whoever forgets a prayer and remembers it only while he is with the imam: when the imam salutes, let him pray the prayer he forgot, then pray after it the other one.Narrated by Imam Malik in the Muwatta (406), with an authentic chain
Imam Ahmad said: if dhuhr escaped him while he was with the imam in asr and he remembers it, he completes it and then repeats it. He also said: whoever forgets a prayer and remembers it during another completes that prayer, then prays the one he forgot, then repeats the one in which he was when he remembered.
The Hanafis said: one who has entered a prayer, or has not entered it, and remembers a missed prayer: if his missed prayers range from one to five, he must begin with the missed ones; if he prays a prayer in its time while remembering the missed ones, his prayer is invalid, whether he remembered them after entering the prayer, or remembered them before entering and then entered while remembering them; except if he remembers during the last time of a prayer: he then begins with the one whose time he fears losing, then makes up the missed ones. If his missed prayers are six or more and he remembers during the time of a prayer, whether or not he has entered it, he begins with the one whose time has entered, before the missed ones, then makes up the missed ones: all his prayers are valid. If he forgot a single prayer and remembers while he has entered another: if between the forgotten prayer and the one he has entered there are five prayers or fewer, the latter is invalidated; he begins with the forgotten one, prays it, then prays this one; unless he remembers in the last time of this one: he completes it, then makes up the missed one. If between them there are six prayers or more, the prayer he has entered is not invalidated: he completes it, then prays the forgotten one.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: there is no difference between five or six missed prayers, and their distinction has no meaning for what cannot be distinguished by proof.
The companions of al-Shafi'i said: whoever prays a prayer while owing another is in one of two states: either his prayer does not count except in order, the first before all; or it counts whatever the situation. Yet they agree that if someone prays a prayer at the end of its time while owing more than a day and a night of prayers, it counts and he makes up the rest: no prayer performed in its time is therefore invalidated because of earlier missed prayers.
Ibn al-Mundhir said: if a man remembers a missed prayer during a later prayer, the prayer he is in is not invalidated by that remembrance, even if deliberate; if he enters a prayer remembering, at the very moment of entering, that an earlier prayer is due from him, that one is not invalidated and counts, and he must pray the prayer he remembered. The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did indeed pray the two rak'ahs of fajr while an obligation was due from them (narrated by Muslim (681)); and since it is permitted for one who owes an obligation to perform a voluntary prayer, it is permitted for one who owes an obligation to perform another obligation, and Allah knows best (al-Awsat 2/416-419; al-Mughni 2/162-163; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/241).
The Malikis and the Hanbalis hold that whoever misses a prayer must make it up immediately, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Whoever sleeps over a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it." The command denotes obligation; and the immediacy intended is ordinary immediacy, such that he is not counted among the negligent. The Hanbalis conditioned immediacy on the absence of harm to body, property or livelihood: immediacy then lapses and he makes it up in a way that does not harm him, based on the hadith: "There is no harm nor reciprocating harm", and the word of Allah, the Most High:
"Allah intends for you ease, and He does not intend for you hardship"
Surah al-Baqarah, 185
Delay is permitted with them for a sound purpose, such as waiting for a traveling company or a congregation for the prayer, based on his act (peace be upon him) with his companions when the fajr prayer escaped them and they moved from their place, and he then prayed fajr with them (agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim). Apparently among them was one who had finished his ablution before the others (al-Kafi by Ibn Abd al-Barr 1/53; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/241; al-Kafi 1/99; al-Mubdi' 1/355; al-Insaf 1/443; Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/260; Matalib Uli al-Nuha 1/323).
As for the Shafi'is, al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: whoever owes a prayer that has lapsed owes its makeup, whether it lapsed with an excuse or without; if it lapsed with an excuse, the makeup is performed with latitude, and making it up immediately is recommended. The author of the Tahdhib said: it has been said that the makeup is due at the moment of remembering, based on the previous hadith; but what the companions [of the school] settled upon is that delay is permitted, based on the hadith of Imran ibn Husayn:
We were traveling with the Prophet (peace be upon him); we traveled by night until late in the night, and we experienced a sleep sweeter than which there is none for the traveler; nothing awakened us but the heat of the sun. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) awoke, they complained to him of what had befallen them. He said: No harm, or: it does no harm; move on. He moved on, traveled a short distance, then halted, asked for water for ablution, performed ablution, the call to prayer was made, and he prayed with the people.Narrated by al-Bukhari (377) and Muslim (682)
That is the madhhab.
If he missed it without excuse, two views: the more correct among the Iraqis is that immediate makeup is recommended and delay permitted, as if it had been missed with an excuse. The more correct among the Khurasanis is that immediate makeup is obligatory: groups among them, or most of them, settled upon it, and Imam al-Haramayn reported the agreement of the companions [of the school] upon it, and that is the truth; for he is negligent in having abandoned it, and he incurs capital punishment for the missed prayer, which would not be his if the makeup were delayed (al-Majmu' 3/74-75; Sharh Muslim 5/159; al-Muhadhdhab 1/54).
As for the Hanafis, they differed: Muhammad said the makeup of the prayer is due with latitude; Abu Yusuf said it is due immediately.
Two narrations are reported from the Imam [Ahmad]. Ibn Nujaym said: in the Mujtaba [of al-Ardabili], the most correct position is that delaying the missed prayers for the excuse of providing for one's family and needs is permitted (al-Nahr al-Fa'iq 1/316; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq 2/85; Durrar al-Hukkam 2/64; Hashiyat al-Tahtawi 1/373).
The lapse of the order: the order lapses for the following causes.
First, the tightness of the time: the Hanafis and the Hanbalis, within the madhhab, hold that one whose time becomes tight is relieved of the order; for the obligation of the time is firmer than the obligation of the order: wisdom does not seek to remedy the missed prayer by missing its like; wisdom does not demand losing what exists in pursuit of what is lost; and the prayer of the time is established by the Book, while the order is established by an isolated report. If the time is ample, one acts upon both; if it is tight, acting upon the Book is more fitting.
The Hanafis said: the order lapses through the tightness of the time for performance and makeup, such that the time does not suffice for both the current prayer and the missed ones; if what remains of the time suffices only one of them, the current prayer is preferred; for what remains is a time for the current prayer by the Book, and a time for the missed one by isolated reports; were we to say that giving precedence to the missed one is obligatory, the Book would be abrogated by an isolated report, unlike the case where the time is ample and one can act upon all the proofs without abrogation.
If one began the current prayer believing the time ample, and prolonged the recitation until it became tight, his prayer is not permitted: he must cut it and begin again, in a tight time. If he believed the time ample and the opposite proved true, the current prayer is not permitted, and it has been said: it is permitted. If he began the current prayer at the moment of tightness and the time expired during it, it is not invalidated, and that is the more correct position; for the consideration goes to the origin of the time; it has been said: to the recommended time in which there is no dislike. The first view is the analogy of the position of the two [companions of Abu Hanifa], the second the analogy of the position of Muhammad, to the point that one who missed dhuhr while he could have performed it before the sun's change, but whose asr falls wholly or partly after the change, owes no order according to Muhammad, while it is due from him according to the two (al-Mabsut 1/154; al-Binayah 2/628; al-Mukhtar 1/88; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq 2/89; Durrar al-Hukkam 2/68; Majma al-Anhur 1/216-217; al-Mughni 2/164; al-Insaf 1/444; Majmu' al-Fatawa 1/108).
The Hanbalis said: the order lapses through the tightness of the time, even by choice: if he fears losing the current prayer, he performs it first, so that it does not become missed; for performing the current one is firmer, the proof being that he incurs capital punishment for deliberately abandoning it, unlike the missed one. And it is said: the order does not lapse (al-Mughni 2/164; al-Kafi 1/99; al-Mubdi' 1/356; al-Insaf 1/444; Majmu' al-Fatawa 1/108; Manar al-Sabil 1/77).
The Malikis hold that the order of a small number of missed prayers before the current prayer is obligatory, like one who owes maghrib and isha in addition to the current fajr: he must perform the two before the current fajr, even if its time expires while he gives precedence to the small number of missed ones; this small number being five or fewer; it has been said: four or fewer. Whoever ignores the obligation of ordering two current prayers, which are paired sets (the two midday prayers, dhuhr and asr; the two evening prayers, maghrib and isha), and begins with the latter out of ignorance of the ruling, repeats the latter after praying the former; for ignorance of the rulings of the Law, while one is able to know them, does not remove those rulings, like ignorance of the prohibition of eating while fasting (this is the view of the Malikis; al-Mughni 2/168; al-Insaf 1/445; Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/301; al-Kharashi 1/301).
The Hanafis hold that one who has begun making up a missed prayer, and the current prayer is announced in the mosque, does not cut it, unless the congregation is formed for that very same obligation: he then cuts his prayer and follows the imam (Hashiyat al-Tahtawi 1/290-291).
The Malikis said: if a regular sunnah prayer is announced in a mosque or its surroundings, and the worshipper is in a voluntary prayer or in an obligation other than the one announced or its like, he cuts his prayer and joins the imam if he fears that, by completing it, a rak'ah would escape him with the imam in the announced prayer; if he does not fear missing a rak'ah with the imam, he completes his prayer, whether or not he has bowed a rak'ah (al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/283; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/324; Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil 2/21).
The Shafi'is said: if he is in a missed prayer, he does not turn it into a voluntary prayer in order to pray it in congregation for a current prayer or another missed one; if the congregation is for that same missed prayer and he has not made it up immediately, cutting it is permitted without recommendation; otherwise it is not permitted, as al-Zarkashi said. It is obligatory upon him to turn the missed prayer into a voluntary one if he fears losing the current prayer (Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/252; Hashiyat al-Shirwani 2/324; Asna al-Matalib 1/231; Hashiyat al-Jamal 1/556; Nihayat al-Muhtaj 2/27).
As for the Hanbalis, Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: if asr is due from him and the dhuhr prayer is announced, some of our companions mentioned, concerning one who owes a missed prayer and fears missing the congregation, two narrations:
If he wants to pray the missed asr behind one who is performing dhuhr, that rests on the validity of one who prays asr acting as imam behind one who prays dhuhr, an issue on which there are two narrations that we shall mention, Allah willing. Ahmad said concerning one who neglected [his prayers] for years: he repeats them; when the time of a prescribed prayer comes, he prays it and counts it among the missed ones he repeats, and he prays dhuhr at the end of its time; he prays no prescribed prayer except at the end of its time, until he has made up the prayers owed from him (al-Mughni 2/167; al-Insaf 1/444; al-Rawd al-Murbi' 1/238; al-Mubdi' 1/358; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat 1/147).
The jurists differed over the ruling on one who owes an obligation following an imam who prays an obligation other than that of the follower, and on one who prays an obligation following one who prays a voluntary prayer: is it valid or not?
The Hanafis, the Malikis and the Hanbalis, within the madhhab, hold that it is not permitted for one who owes an obligation to follow someone praying an obligation other than his own: one who prays dhuhr cannot follow one who prays asr, nor another such as isha, nor the reverse; nor can one who is performing follow one who is making up, nor the reverse; nor can one praying an obligation follow one praying a voluntary prayer, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "The imam has only been appointed to be followed: do not differ from him"; for divergence in the nature of the prayer is like divergence in state.
The Shafi'is, and Ahmad in one narration (as well as the Zahiris), permit one who owes an obligation to follow someone praying another obligation, and likewise one who prays a voluntary prayer to follow someone praying an obligation; for every worshipper prays for himself and attains what he intended from his prayer: deeds are but by intentions. They said: we have been commanded to follow the imam in the acts that are visible to us of him; the intention, however, is hidden from us, and it is impossible that we were commanded to follow him in what is hidden of his acts.
They cited several proofs, among them the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Deeds are but by intentions, and every man shall have what he intended.Narrated by al-Bukhari (1)
He established plainly that each attains what he intended: the imam therefore has his intention and the follower his, neither dependent on the other.
From Jabir ibn Abdallah: Mu'adh ibn Jabal used to pray with the Prophet (peace be upon him), then come and lead his people in prayer. One night he prayed isha with the Prophet, then came to his people and led them, opening with Surah al-Baqarah; a man turned away, saluted, prayed alone and departed. They said to him: Are you showing off, so-and-so? He said: No, by Allah; and I shall go to the Messenger of Allah. He said: O Messenger of Allah, we are people who draw water and work by day; yet Mu'adh prayed isha with you, then came and opened with Surah al-Baqarah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) turned to Mu'adh and said:
O Mu'adh, are you a tempter (fattan)? Recite such and such, and recite such and such.Narrated by al-Bukhari (6106) and Muslim (465)
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) thus knew his situation, approved it as it was, and did not disavow it.
From Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed dhuhr in a state of fear: part of the people stood in rows behind him and part facing the enemy. He prayed with them two rak'ahs, then saluted. Those who had prayed with him went and took the place of their companions, and then those came and prayed behind him two rak'ahs, and he saluted. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) thus had four rak'ahs, and his companions two and two.An authentic hadith: narrated by Abu Dawud (1248) and al-Nasa'i (836)
And from Jabir: "We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and when we reached Dhat al-Riqa..."; he mentions the hadith and says: "The call to prayer was made, and he prayed with one group two rak'ahs; then they withdrew, and he prayed with the other group two rak'ahs. Jabir said: the Prophet (peace be upon him) thus had four rak'ahs, and the people two." (narrated by Muslim (843)). This was the last act of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): Abu Bakrah witnessed it, his Islam having taken place on the day of al-Ta'if, after the conquest of Mecca and after Hunayn.
And from Jabir: "He saluted between the two" (an authentic hadith: narrated by Abu Dawud (1248)).
Hence: the obligation is performed behind one who prays a voluntary prayer, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did; and the voluntary prayer behind one who prays an obligation, as he commanded (peace be upon him). And an obligation is performed behind one performing another obligation, as he informed: "Deeds are but by intentions, and every man shall have what he intended"; he never forbade it, nor did any of his companions.
From Humayd ibn Hilal: Abdallah ibn al-Samit informed me: "We were with al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari, a companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), in an army. He was praying the fajr prayer with us, a spear planted before him. A donkey passed before the rows; he had them repeat the prayer and said: I had before me what screened me, the spear, but I repeated it for those who had nothing before them to screen them." This companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) thus prayed a voluntary prayer with those performing an obligation.
From Ata al-Khurasani: "Abu al-Darda came to the mosque of Damascus while they were praying isha, whereas he intended maghrib; he prayed with them, and when the prayer was over he stood and prayed one rak'ah, thus completing three for maghrib, plus two voluntarily." This report is also narrated through Qatadah, with the addition: "then he prayed isha."
And from Anas ibn Malik: "Whoever comes to the tarawih in the month of Ramadan without having prayed isha, while two rak'ahs remain for the people, should count them as part of isha."
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our school holds that a voluntary prayer behind an obligation is valid, and an obligation behind a voluntary prayer; that an obligation behind another obligation of the same number is valid, such as dhuhr behind asr; and that an obligation behind a longer obligation [is valid as well]; all of this is permitted without disagreement among us. Then if one prays dhuhr behind fajr and the imam salutes, the follower stands to complete his prayer, with the ruling of one who was preceded. And if he prays dhuhr behind maghrib, it is valid by consensus; when the imam sits for the final tashahhud, he chooses between leaving him to complete what is due from him, or remaining with him until the imam salutes and then standing for his two rak'ahs; remaining is preferable.
If the number of rak'ahs of the follower is smaller, like one who prays fajr behind a four-rak'ah prayer, or behind maghrib, or one who prays maghrib behind a four-rak'ah prayer, the Khurasanis reported two ways: the more correct, upon which the Iraqis settled, is validity, like its opposite; the other contains two views, the more correct of which is that one [validity], and the other invalidity, for he enters the prayer with the intention of separating from the imam. When we hold the madhhab, that is, the validity of following, the follower's prayer is complete: if the imam rises to what remains of his, the follower has the choice: if he wishes, he separates from him and salutes; if he wishes, he waits to salute with him; waiting is preferable.
If he prays maghrib behind dhuhr and the imam rises for the fourth rak'ah, it is not permitted for the follower to follow him: he separates and performs the tashahhud. May he lengthen the tashahhud and wait for him? Two views reported by Imam al-Haramayn and others: the first, yes, as we said concerning one who prays fajr behind dhuhr; the second, that of Imam al-Haramayn, which is the madhhab: no, for he would introduce a tashahhud and a sitting which the imam did not perform. If he prays isha behind the tarawih, it is permitted: when the imam salutes, he rises for his two remaining rak'ahs. It is better that he complete them alone. If the imam rises for two rak'ahs of tarawih and he intends to follow him a second time in those two rak'ahs, there are two views on its validity; the more correct is validity, like one who began alone and then intended to follow. All of this when the two prayers agree in their outward acts; if they differ, such as following, in the eclipse or funeral prayer, one who prays dhuhr or another, or the reverse, there are two ways: the more correct, upon which the Iraqis settled, is invalidity, because following is impossible; the other has two aspects, the second being its validity, the view of al-Qaffal, for partial following is possible. Accordingly, one who prays dhuhr behind a funeral prayer does not follow him in the takbirs and invocations; when the imam pronounces the second takbir, the follower chooses: if he wishes, he withdraws from the following, and if he wishes, he waits for the imam's salutation. And one who follows one praying the eclipse prayer follows him in the first bowing; then, if he wishes, he raises his head with him and separates, and if he wishes he waits for him in the bowing. Imam al-Haramayn and others said: he waits for him in the bowing so that the imam returns to him and straightens with him from his second bowing; he does not wait for him after the rising, because of the lengthening of the short pillar. Al-Baghawi said: if he catches him in the second bowing of the eclipse, he follows him in it and prays that rak'ah with him, then bows with him for the first bowing of the second, then withdraws from his following. And if he catches him in the second bowing of one of the two rak'ahs, he is one who has caught the rak'ah, for it is a bowing counted for the imam.
As for one who prays dhuhr behind the Eid prayer or the prayer for rain, there are two ways: the first is that it is like [praying] behind the eclipse prayer, because of the additional takbirs; this is the more correct, upon which al-Mutawalli and others settled: validity without restriction, for the two agree in the outward acts, unlike the funeral prayer, whose takbirs are pillars, and so like a difference of acts. If we hold validity, he does not pronounce with the imam the additional takbirs, for they are not part of the follower's prayer, and their omission does not break the following; if he pronounces them, his prayer is not invalidated, for invocations do not invalidate the prayer. And one who prays the Eid behind one who is making up fajr: it is permitted, and he pronounces the additional takbirs (al-Majmu' 4/235-237; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq 1/382-383; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq 1/142; al-Istidhkar 2/171; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/333-339; Jawahir al-Iklil 1/80; Rawdat al-Talibin 1/367-368; Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/254; Tarh al-Tathrib 2/292; al-Mughni 2/437; Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/485; al-Ifsah 1/213).