Missed Salaah and Fasts

Shortened Question:

Do I have to perform the Qadha of missed Salah and fasts while I was a Muslim as well as of when I became non-Muslim? What is the Kaffarah for becoming atheist?

Question:

I am a born Muslim who became Baaliqh at the age of 15. I was not a pious Muslim. I used to read only Jumuah Salah and sometimes Fardh Salah also. I left Islam and became atheist at the age of 30. At the age of 33, I once again accepted Islam. Now I am a practising Muslim. I am doing Tableegh work and I decided to join 8 years Maulvi course also. My question is:

  1. Do I have to read the Qadha Salah and keep Qadha Fasts from the age of 15 to 29, as I was Muslim at that time?
  2. Do I have to read Qadha Salah and keep Qadha Fasts from the age of 30 to 32, as I was atheist at that time?
  3. What is the Kaffarah for becoming atheist?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

At the outset, we would like to commend you on the steps you have taken to shun your past life of disobedience and atheism. It is a great bounty that you were gifted the chance to repent, revert to Islam and reconnect yourself to the beloved religion of Allah Ta‘ālā. Many unfortunate people do not make repentance until it is too late. Remain steadfast, and make du‘ā to Allah to keep you steadfast on Islam.

As far as your missed prayers and fasts are concerned, you are obliged to make up the Fardh Salaah, Witr Salaah and the compulsory fasts of Ramadhan which you had missed since the age of maturity up to renouncing Islam.[1] However, you are not responsible to make up the prayers missed during your time as an apostate[2].

If it is difficult for you to determine the exact amount of missed Salaah and fasts, you should make an overestimate until you are convinced that you have not missed any more than that amount[3]. You should attempt to begin making up your missed Salaah and fasts as soon as possible. For every Salah, make the intention of the first Qadha Salah of that particular Salāh that is due in your responsibility. For instance, for each Zuhr Salah that you make up, you can make the intention of the first Qadha Zuhr that yet remains in your responsibility[4]. This should be done for all the Qadha Salah until you have reached the amount that you estimated. The same criteria should be applied for the missed fasts.

The following ways may provide you with a practical method to complete the obligation of your Qadha Salah:

  1. You may offer each Qadha Salah with the present Salah; for example, observe one Qadha Fajr with the present Fajr, one Qadha Zuhr with the present Zuhr, and so on.
  2. You could allocate a particular time during each day to complete the Qadha Salah of one whole day.
  3. You may even choose certain days of the week to make up your Qadha fasts. Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and 13th, 14th and 15th of each Islamic month is a Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Thus, you could also choose these days to make up your Qadha Salah.

There is no Kaffarah for becoming an atheist. However, you should repent and ask forgiveness for this stage of your life. You may seek forgiveness with the following words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيّ الْقَيُّوم وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

Astaghfirullah allazee laa ilaaha illaa huwal hayyul qayyoom wa atoobu ilayh

“I seek forgiveness of Allah, the One besides Whom there is no deity, the Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining, and I turn (in repentance) to Him[5].”

 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Hanif Yusuf Patel

Student Darul Iftaa
UK

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net

 

References

[1] (ويقضي عبادات تركها في الإسلام) قال شمس الأئمة الحلواني: عليه قضاء ما ترك في الإسلام؛ لأن ترك الصلاة والصيام معصية والمعصية تبقى بعد الردة. ذكره قاضي خان.

[Durar al-Hukkam Sharh Gurar al-Ahkam, 1: 302]

ونقله في البحر هناك عن الخانية بقوله: إذا كان على المرتد قضاء صلوات وصيامات تركها في الإسلام ثم أسلم، قال شمس الأئمة الحلواني: عليه قضاء ما ترك في الإسلام لأن ترك الصيام والصلاة معصية، والمعصية تبقى بعد الردة اهـ

[Rad al-Muhtar ala ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 2: 75, H. M. Saeed Company]

قال شمس الأئمة الحلواني رحمه الله تعالى يقضي ما ترك في الإسلام لأن ترك الصلاة والصيام معصية والمعصية تبقى بعد الردة

[Fatawa Qadhi Khan, 3: 366]

[Imdad al-Fatawa, 1: 397, Maktabah Dar al-Uloom Karachi]

[2] فلو أسلم المرتد لا يخاطب بشيء من العبادات أيام ردته

[Al-Bahr ar-Ra`iq Sharh Kanz ad-Daqa`iq wa Minhat al-Khaliq wa Takmilat at-Turi, 2: 218]

وقد بقي لها أحكام كثيرة منها حبط العمل عندنا بنفس الردة وعند الشافعي بشرط الموت عليها كذا في البدائع أي إبطال العبادات وفي الخلاصة من ارتد ثم أسلم وهو قد حج مرة فعليه أن يحج ثانيا وليس عليه إعادة الصلوات والزكوات والصيامات لأن بالردة كأنه لم يزل كافرا فإذا أسلم وهو غني فعليه الحج وليس عليه قضاء سائر العبادات اهـ.

[Al-Bahr ar-Ra`iq Sharh Kanz ad-Daqa`iq wa Minhat al-Khaliq wa Takmilat at-Turi, 5: 137]

وليس على المرتد قضاء الصلاة والصوم في حال الردة

Gamz Uyun al-Bsa`ir fi Sharh al-Ashbah wa An-Naza`ir, 3: 278]

ولا يلزم قضاء ما فاته زمان الردة يعني إذا مضت المدة على ردته ثم أسلم لا يجب عليه قضاء ما فاته فيها من الفرائض عندنا ويجب عند الشافعي

[Majma` al-Anhar fi Sharh Multaqa al-Abhur, 1: 218]

مرتد أسلم لم يقض المتروكات

[al-Fatawa at-Tatarkhaniyyah, 2: 457, Maktabah Zakariya, Deoband]

[3] من لا يدري كمية الفوائت يعمل بأكبر رأيه فإن لم يكن له رأي يقض حتى يتيقن أنه لم يبق عليه شيء

[Hashiyat at-Tahtawi ala Maraqi al-Falah, p. 447, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah]

[Fatawa Mahmoodiyah, 7: 364, Dar al-Iftaa Jamiah Farooqiyah]

[4] فإذا كثرت الفوائت يحتاج لتعيين كل صلاة يقضيها...فإذا أراد تسهيل الأمر عليه نوى أول ظهر عليه أدرك وقته ولم يصله

[Maraqi al Falah ma`a Hashiyat ad-Durr, p. 447]

[Imdad al-Fattah Sharh Nur al-Idhah wa Najat al-Arwah, p.464, Dar Taba`, Damascus]

[Fatawa Mahmoodiyah, 7: 365, Dar al-Iftaa Jamiah Farooqiyah]

[5] [Sunan Abi Dawood, 2: 295, Mu`assasat ar-Rayyan]

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Posted in Sawm & Ramadhaan (Fasting)Salaah (Prayer) on 17th Jan 2016 by Our Imam | 2498 Views