The Ruling on the Order of Missed and Current Prayers

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. A questioner says that he missed a prayer, and then the time for the next one arrived. He prayed the current one without intending it to be the one he had missed, and then he prayed the missed one afterward. Is his action valid? It is known that he did not arrange the prayers in order.

Answer:
The scholars say that arranging the order is obligatory, except in two cases. The first case is if the time arrives and only a short time remains for the current prayer, so he prays the current prayer before the time exits, and then he makes up the missed one. The second case is if he forgets the order; if he prays the current one and forgets what is upon him, and then he remembers after completing the prayer that he has a missed prayer, he prays the missed one afterward, because forgetfulness is an excuse, and arranging the order between prayers is not required in that case.