Is there an expiation for one who used to abandon prayer and then repented to Allah?
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The questioner : A young man who is thirty-three years old. During this period, after reaching the age of maturity, he abandoned fasting and prayer for only two years of his life. Is there an expiation for this, knowing that he now performs the five daily prayers and fasts Ramadan, but he is distressed and afraid of Allah, regretting what he missed in those two years regarding two of the pillars of Islam? Yes.
The Shaykh : Scholars have differed on this issue regarding one who abandons time-bound acts of worship until their time passes without an excuse. Some said: It is obligatory for him to make them up. Others said: It is not obligatory for him to make them up. For example, a man who intentionally abandons prayer until its time passes without an excuse, or does not fast Ramadan intentionally until its time passes without an excuse. Some scholars say: It is obligatory for him to make it up, because Allah the Exalted made it obligatory for the traveler and the sick person in Ramadan to make it up. So if Allah made it obligatory for the one with an excuse, then it is even more so for the one without an excuse. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made prayer obligatory for the one who forgot it until its time passed, and made it obligatory for the one who slept through it until its time passed to make it up. They said: If making it up is obligatory for the one with an excuse, then it is even more so for the one without an excuse.
The second opinion in this issue is that it is not obligatory to make up a time-bound act of worship if one abandons it until its time passes without an excuse. This is because a time-bound act of worship is described as occurring in that specific time. If it is moved from that time by advancing or delaying it, it is not accepted. Just as if a man prays before the time, it is not accepted from him as an obligatory prayer, and if he fasts before the month of Ramadan, it is not accepted from him as an obligatory fast, so likewise if he delays prayer from its time without an excuse, it is not accepted from him. And likewise, if he delays fasting Ramadan without an excuse, it is not accepted from him.
This opinion is the stronger one. This is because if a person moves an act of worship from its time and performs it afterwards, he has performed an act for which there is no command from Allah and His Messenger. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih Muslim 1718b And if his act is rejected, then his obligation to make it up is an obligation that yields no benefit.
And based on this, we say to thisThe questioner : Since you have abandoned prayer for two years and fasting for two years without an excuse, you must repent to Allah with a sincere and pure repentance, and increase in righteous deeds. Do not make up what you missed, because if you made it up, you would not benefit from it. But repentance wipes out what came before it, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : May Allah send blessings and peace upon Muhammad. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Scholars have differed on this issue regarding one who abandons time-bound acts of worship until their time passes without an excuse. Some said: It is obligatory for him to make them up. Others said: It is not obligatory for him to make them up. For example, a man who intentionally abandons prayer until its time passes without an excuse, or does not fast Ramadan intentionally until its time passes without an excuse. Some scholars say: It is obligatory for him to make it up, because Allah the Exalted made it obligatory for the traveler and the sick person in Ramadan to make it up. So if Allah made it obligatory for the one with an excuse, then it is even more so for the one without an excuse. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.
من نام عن صلاة أو نسيها فليصلها إذا ذكرهاThe second opinion in this issue is that it is not obligatory to make up a time-bound act of worship if one abandons it until its time passes without an excuse. This is because a time-bound act of worship is described as occurring in that specific time. If it is moved from that time by advancing or delaying it, it is not accepted. Just as if a man prays before the time, it is not accepted from him as an obligatory prayer, and if he fasts before the month of Ramadan, it is not accepted from him as an obligatory fast, so likewise if he delays prayer from its time without an excuse, it is not accepted from him. And likewise, if he delays fasting Ramadan without an excuse, it is not accepted from him.
This opinion is the stronger one. This is because if a person moves an act of worship from its time and performs it afterwards, he has performed an act for which there is no command from Allah and His Messenger. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردAnd based on this, we say to thisThe questioner : Since you have abandoned prayer for two years and fasting for two years without an excuse, you must repent to Allah with a sincere and pure repentance, and increase in righteous deeds. Do not make up what you missed, because if you made it up, you would not benefit from it. But repentance wipes out what came before it, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : May Allah send blessings and peace upon Muhammad. May Allah reward you.