How the Sick Perform Ritual Purity and Prayer in Hospitals Under All Their Circumstances

Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. One of the listeners, who indicated her name with the letters 'Asa, says: I was afflicted with an illness that kept me in the hospital for about five months, but I did not perform the prayers during this period. I want to make up the prayers I missed during this time. How should I make them up? And is it valid to make them up at times other than the obligatory prayer times, such as the time of Duha or after the Zuhr prayer until the time of Asr? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
This is a matter in which many people fall into error. Our master 'Umar? Those who lie in hospitals due to ignorance leave off prayer for the duration of their hospitalization, saying, "When we come out, we will pray them," because they cannot perform wudu, because they cannot purify their clothes, because they are not facing the qiblah, and so on, with excuses that are not valid.
It is obligatory for the Muslim to pray every prayer in its time, except when he needs to combine two prayers. The important thing is that he prays and does not leave off prayer, but he prays according to his condition. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The sick person prays standing, and if he cannot, then sitting, and if he cannot, then on his side, and if he cannot, then lying on his back with his feet toward the qiblah. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) commanded purity with water, except in the case of an excuse such as illness, or the loss of water, or the scarcity of water such that it is not sufficient for his need and his purity. In that case, he performs tayammum with dust. So if the sick person cannot perform purity with water, he prays and performs tayammum with dust, and that suffices in place of water, and praise be to Allah, for both the major and minor states of ritual impurity.
As for impure clothes, if one is unable to replace them, he prays in them even if they are impure, and his prayer is valid, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: regarding impurity. However, if he is able to replace them, he must replace them. As for facing the qiblah, if he is unable to do so, and he fears that the time will pass, and there is no one with him to direct him to the qiblah, he prays in whatever direction, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: , and the saying of Allah the Exalted: , and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When I command you to do something, do as much of it as you are able." Therefore, it is not permissible to abandon the prayer. A person is sane, possessing his intellect and reasoning; it is not permissible for him to abandon the prayer. Rather, he prays according to his condition and his ability. And the questioner, or the female questioner, mentioned that for five months in the hospital he did not pray. This is a great danger and a major error, and its cause is ignorance. Why was the question delayed until this time? Why did he not ask while he was in the hospital and hasten to ask?
So the result is that this is negligence and an error, and she must repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and make up these prayers. In order, she prays the prayers of the first day in sequence: Fajr, then Zuhr, then Asr, then Maghrib, then Isha. Then she prays the prayers of the second day in this manner, and the third, and the fourth, and so on, until she finishes these prayers. She prays as much as is easy for her in one sitting, and if it becomes difficult for her to continue, she rests. When she has rested, she returns for a second period and prays as much as is easy for her, and so on, until she finishes what is due from her.