Islamic Guidance for Making Up Missed Salah (Qada)
Missing prayers is a serious matter in Islam, but Allah in His mercy has provided a way to make up for missed prayers. This guide explains the Islamic rulings on making up missed prayers (qada), the correct procedure, and how to avoid missing prayers in the future.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers." (Bukhari 597)
There is consensus among scholars that:
Make a list of all missed prayers with their dates if possible. If you're uncertain about exact missed prayers, make an estimate.
Before making up each prayer, have the intention in your heart that you are praying to fulfill a missed obligation. The intention doesn't need to be verbal.
If making up multiple prayers, pray them in the order they were missed. For example, if you missed Fajr and Dhuhr, pray Fajr first then Dhuhr.
Make up the prayer exactly as you would normally pray it - same number of rak'ahs, same recitations, etc. The only difference is your intention.
If you have many missed prayers, don't overwhelm yourself. Make a schedule to gradually make them up while maintaining your current prayers.
Use this tool to help organize making up missed prayers:
Tip: Spread these makeup prayers over several days while maintaining your current prayers.
If you're unsure how many prayers you missed:
For those converting to Islam or returning after long neglect:
"And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember." (Quran 11:114)
Preventative measures to ensure you don't miss prayers:
If prayers were missed deliberately:
"Allah says: 'O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as the earth.'" (Tirmidhi 3540)