I was involved in an accident a year ago and spent five days without praying, knowing that I was in pain and did not remember those days or that prayer.

The questioner : This is a Sudanese man from Khartoum who says: I was involved in an accident a year ago and spent some days, five days, without praying, knowing that I was in pain and did not remember those days or that prayer or otherwise, because I was in a coma and in pain and unable to use water or perform dry ablution. So, please advise me: do I have to make up those five days?

The Shaykh : If a patient or accident victim is in a state of fainting, coma, or mental confusion, he owes no make-up, whether the period is long or short, because the one who is unconscious or whose mind is altered is not obligated, so he is not required to make up anything, neither fasting nor prayer. If a person is involved in an accident in Ramadan and becomes unconscious for days, he is not required to make it up. Some scholars said that he is required to make it up because he is, in general, subject to obligation. However, what appears is that he owes no make-up, neither in fasting nor in prayer, provided that the fainting was not due to his own action.
As for if the fainting is due to his own action, such as anesthesia or the like, then he is required to make it up, because he is the one who caused the loss of consciousness, so he is required to make it up. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you.