The Ruling on Making Up Missed Prayers for the Deceased, and How a Sick Person Prays

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the stronger position regarding making up missed prayers for a deceased person? My father passed away on the fifteenth of Ramadan last year, and he says: Do we have to pray what remained of his time in the hospital for fifteen days?

Answer:
Prayer is not made up for the deceased because it does not admit of representation. Prayer is not made up, but in this regard, the issue of patients in hospitals is that they are obligated to pray according to their ability, and it is not permissible for them to abandon it until they leave the hospital.
This is a very serious matter. The Prophet (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. If he is able to perform wudu with water, he performs wudu; if he is not able, he performs tayammum with pure earth and prays. He does not abandon prayer on the pretext that he is sick or that he will pray it when he leaves. This is a matter that is not permissible. One must be alert to this, and it is also required that hospitals have guides from among the scholars who visit the patients and answer their questions and address their problems. Yes.