What is the ruling on a woman who has reached the age of twenty and does not pray?
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Question:
A listener from Jordan (E. G. Sh.) says about herself: I am a Muslim woman, twenty-four years old. I did not fast and I did not pray until I reached the age of twenty. At that time, I began to fast Ramadan, but I did not make up the days I had broken due to a legal excuse. How do you advise me, given the situation I have described?
The Shaykh: Repeat.
The presenter: She says: She is a Muslim woman, twenty-four years old, who did not fast and did not pray until she reached the age of twenty. At that time, she began to fast and began to pray, but she did not make up the days she broke due to a legal excuse. She seeks guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You do not have to make up the missed prayers or fasts; rather, you must repent to Allah, because you left them off intentionally, and this is disbelief. We seek refuge in Allah from that. So you must repent for what you did in leaving off the prayer and fasting, and you must face the future with repentance to Allah, and with prayer and fasting in the future.
However, if you did not know the rulings of Allah, and did not know the prayer or the fast, then if you have fasted the past months, there is no blame on you. But the principle is that nothing is required of you; rather, repentance is sufficient. Allah says: [Al-Anfal: 38]. These matters are not something you would be ignorant of; they are known from the religion by necessity. The fact that your family or others did not encourage you or alert you does not prevent you from knowing about the prayer, especially since you see people praying.
So the conclusion is: you do not have to make up the prayer or the fast. Repentance is sufficient, if Allah wills. Repentance is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
A listener from Jordan (E. G. Sh.) says about herself: I am a Muslim woman, twenty-four years old. I did not fast and I did not pray until I reached the age of twenty. At that time, I began to fast Ramadan, but I did not make up the days I had broken due to a legal excuse. How do you advise me, given the situation I have described?
The Shaykh: Repeat.
The presenter: She says: She is a Muslim woman, twenty-four years old, who did not fast and did not pray until she reached the age of twenty. At that time, she began to fast and began to pray, but she did not make up the days she broke due to a legal excuse. She seeks guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You do not have to make up the missed prayers or fasts; rather, you must repent to Allah, because you left them off intentionally, and this is disbelief. We seek refuge in Allah from that. So you must repent for what you did in leaving off the prayer and fasting, and you must face the future with repentance to Allah, and with prayer and fasting in the future.
However, if you did not know the rulings of Allah, and did not know the prayer or the fast, then if you have fasted the past months, there is no blame on you. But the principle is that nothing is required of you; rather, repentance is sufficient. Allah says:
Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَSo the conclusion is: you do not have to make up the prayer or the fast. Repentance is sufficient, if Allah wills. Repentance is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.