How does one who has fainted make up the missed prayers?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : He says:The questioner : Your Eminence, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. A man who is ill suffered a fainting spell lasting several days and then regained consciousness. How does he make up the prayers he missed while he was unconscious?
The Shaykh : Yes, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether it is obligatory for the unconscious person to make up the prayers or not.
The correct view is that the unconscious person is not required to make up the prayers, even if the period is long, unless the fainting was due to his own action, such as fainting due to anesthesia. In that case, he must make up the prayers. However, if the fainting was due to an accident or a severe illness, he is not required to make up the prayers, even if days have passed, because he is not of sound mind. He is not like the sleeper. The sleeper is obligated to make up the prayers when he wakes up, but the unconscious person is not required to make up the prayers. This is because if the sleeper is woken up, he wakes up, whereas if the unconscious person is woken up, he does not wake up. Therefore, it is not by his choice.
In that case, we turn this question to the sleeper. If a man slept for two days and did not wake up, he would then owe ten prayers. How does he make them up? He makes them up immediately in succession, and he does not make up each obligatory prayer with its corresponding time. It is possible for him to make up ten prayers in one or two hours.
Here is a very important question regarding this topic: If a person did not pray in the early part of his life, then Allah guided him and he began to pray, is he required to make up what he left behind?
The answer is: No, he is not required to make up what he left behind, for two reasons. The first reason is that if we hold the view that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever, as is the stronger position, then the disbeliever is not required to make up the acts of worship he left behind, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Anfal 8:38]. And if we hold the view that he is not declared a disbeliever, which is the weaker position, then he intentionally delayed the prayer beyond its time. One who intentionally delays the prayer beyond its time and then prays it after the time has passed, his prayer is not accepted, because this is an action that is not in accordance with the command of Allah and His Messenger. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1718b
The Shaykh : Yes, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether it is obligatory for the unconscious person to make up the prayers or not.
The correct view is that the unconscious person is not required to make up the prayers, even if the period is long, unless the fainting was due to his own action, such as fainting due to anesthesia. In that case, he must make up the prayers. However, if the fainting was due to an accident or a severe illness, he is not required to make up the prayers, even if days have passed, because he is not of sound mind. He is not like the sleeper. The sleeper is obligated to make up the prayers when he wakes up, but the unconscious person is not required to make up the prayers. This is because if the sleeper is woken up, he wakes up, whereas if the unconscious person is woken up, he does not wake up. Therefore, it is not by his choice.
In that case, we turn this question to the sleeper. If a man slept for two days and did not wake up, he would then owe ten prayers. How does he make them up? He makes them up immediately in succession, and he does not make up each obligatory prayer with its corresponding time. It is possible for him to make up ten prayers in one or two hours.
Here is a very important question regarding this topic: If a person did not pray in the early part of his life, then Allah guided him and he began to pray, is he required to make up what he left behind?
The answer is: No, he is not required to make up what he left behind, for two reasons. The first reason is that if we hold the view that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever, as is the stronger position, then the disbeliever is not required to make up the acts of worship he left behind, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: