If a person has missed many of the obligatory prayers in the past and is now making up whatever is possible for him without praying the recommended practices, naturally this is...

The questioner : The questioner says: If a person has missed many of the obligatory prayers in the past and is now making up whatever is possible for him without praying the recommended practices, naturally this is due to the tightness of work time so as not to tire himself, and knowing that he is suffering from a disc disease in his back, so he cannot stand for long?

The Shaykh : First, we must detail this issue.

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : As for these prayers that he missed, if they were missed without an excuse, then the stronger position is that making them up will not benefit him or be of use to him. Therefore, he should not make them up, but rather he should increase in righteous deeds, by which Allah erases the evil deeds he has committed. However, if they were missed due to an excuse, such as forgetting or sleeping, and then he did not make them up because he thought that once the time had passed, there would be no making up, then in that case he should make them up in order, starting for example with the prayer of the first day, then the prayer of the second day, then the prayer of the third day, and so on. As for the recommended practices, they are recommended practices by their name.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : If a person performs them, that is good, and if he leaves them, he owes nothing. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you.