The ruling on one who prostrates once in every unit of prayer out of ignorance
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Question:
This is a letter we received from one of our noble listeners. He says in his letter: The first question: I used to pray, and I still do, praise be to Allah, but at the beginning of my prayer, I used to pray half a prayer. For example, for the Fajr prayer, I would prostrate twice, thinking that I was praying a complete prayer. Likewise, for the Zuhr prayer, which is four units, I would prostrate four times. And so it was for the obligatory prayers of other times...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat.
The presenter: He says: I used to pray, and I still do, praise be to Allah, but at the beginning of my prayer, I used to pray half a prayer. For example, for the Fajr prayer, I would prostrate twice, thinking that I was praying a complete prayer. Likewise, for the Zuhr prayer, which is four units, I would prostrate four times. And so it was for the obligatory prayers of other times. He says: I continued on this path for about four years. The reason that made me continue in this error was shyness. I was too shy to ask anyone, even my father who is with me in the house. I am convinced that if I had asked him, he would have answered me with the truth, but I did not ask him. After this long period—meaning four years, or less, or more—I asked one of the people, and he told me: Your prayer is half of the obligation.
My question: Do I have to make up the missed prayers? And how do I make them up?
May Allah guide you and guide us to what is good.
Answer:
This issue is very strange. A man among the Muslims is unaware of the manner of prayer, and he prostrates only once in every unit of prayer. There is no power or strength except with Allah. There is no doubt that this is a result of neglecting prayer in congregation. If the questioner had prayed in congregation, he would have known how to pray, and he would have seen people prostrating twice in every unit. But because of his praying at home and not asking, he fell into this great mistake.
Knowledge is sought, and one asks about it, and one does not feel shy in seeking it. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Surat al-Baqarah: 26]. And He says in the verse in Surat al-Ahzab: [Surat al-Ahzab: 53]. So He (peace and blessings be upon him) does not feel shy to speak the truth and to command what is right (Exalted and Majestic is He). And Umm Salim said when she asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah! Allah does not feel shy of the truth. Does a woman have to perform the full ritual bath if she has a wet dream?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 122Sahih (Darussalam).
There is no shyness in the truth; one should ask about it, and the Muslim man and woman should seek understanding in it. Mujahid ibn Jabr, the noble Successor (may Allah have mercy on him), said: “The shy one does not learn, and the arrogant one does not learn.” So the shy one does not learn, and the arrogant one does not learn. It is not befitting for a believer to be shy about knowledge. This is not true shyness, but rather weakness, cowardice, negligence, and laziness. Otherwise, true, prescribed shyness leads to good and does not prevent good, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, Sahih Muslim 37a, .
So shyness is all good. It is a noble character trait that leads to the best of morals and the best of deeds, and it forbids the worst of morals and the worst of deeds.
What appears from the Shari'ah is that you, O questioner, do not have to make up the missed prayers. This is because you are considered to have intentionally neglected them due to your not asking, even though asking was easy for you. And even if you were ignorant and thought that this was correct, the period has been long, and ignorance of this is great. So you must repent and turn back to Allah, seek forgiveness, and not return to such an action. You must ask the people of knowledge about everything, and you must pray from now on as Muslims pray: every unit has bowing and two prostrations. Every unit in the obligatory and voluntary prayers has bowing in the air and two prostrations on the ground. This is necessary.
So you must start your life with this prayer: every unit has bowing and two prostrations. And you must pray with the Muslims in the mosques, and not pray at home. Praying in the mosques with the Muslims is a necessary and obligatory matter, as in the hadith from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Bulugh al-Maram 2:308. A blind man asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque. Do I have a dispensation to pray in my house?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Sahih Muslim 653. He said: Yes. He said: . So he ordered him to respond to the call, and did not give him a dispensation, even though he was blind and lived far away, and had no guide to lead him. And yet he ordered him to pray in the mosque and did not give him a dispensation to pray in his house. So what about the case of the seeing and healthy person? His excuse is even weaker than that. In fact, he has no excuse as long as he is healthy, hears the call, and can see. He is in a greater state than the one who has no guide and is blind. So his obligation is greater. If the blind man is not excused, then the one who is seeing, strong, and capable is not excused a fortiori.
When the Bedouin who entered the mosque and performed the prayer in a hasty manner asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2692Sahih (Darussalam). He did this three times. Then he said: “O Messenger of Allah, by Him who sent you with the truth, I do not know how to do it better than this. Teach me.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Bulugh al-Maram 2:139. This is how he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to pray: with tranquility, straightness, humility, and without haste. He did not order him to make up the past. He did not order him to make up the past prayers that he had not completed. Rather, he performed them hastily due to his ignorance and lack of insight. For this reason, he ordered him to start his affairs anew and pray a straight prayer in which he is tranquil with his Lord and humble, and he did not order him to make up the past.
So it is the same for you. Because you left the prayer in reality due to ignorance, lack of insight, and negligence, you must repent to Allah and turn back to Him. You are not obligated to make up the prayers for the past period, as appears from the principles of the Shari'ah and from this noble hadith. May Allah accept your repentance. And you must increase in good deeds and seeking forgiveness, and increase in the remembrance of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), for good deeds erase bad deeds. And Allah is the One to be asked for help. Yes.
This is a letter we received from one of our noble listeners. He says in his letter: The first question: I used to pray, and I still do, praise be to Allah, but at the beginning of my prayer, I used to pray half a prayer. For example, for the Fajr prayer, I would prostrate twice, thinking that I was praying a complete prayer. Likewise, for the Zuhr prayer, which is four units, I would prostrate four times. And so it was for the obligatory prayers of other times...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat.
The presenter: He says: I used to pray, and I still do, praise be to Allah, but at the beginning of my prayer, I used to pray half a prayer. For example, for the Fajr prayer, I would prostrate twice, thinking that I was praying a complete prayer. Likewise, for the Zuhr prayer, which is four units, I would prostrate four times. And so it was for the obligatory prayers of other times. He says: I continued on this path for about four years. The reason that made me continue in this error was shyness. I was too shy to ask anyone, even my father who is with me in the house. I am convinced that if I had asked him, he would have answered me with the truth, but I did not ask him. After this long period—meaning four years, or less, or more—I asked one of the people, and he told me: Your prayer is half of the obligation.
My question: Do I have to make up the missed prayers? And how do I make them up?
May Allah guide you and guide us to what is good.
Answer:
This issue is very strange. A man among the Muslims is unaware of the manner of prayer, and he prostrates only once in every unit of prayer. There is no power or strength except with Allah. There is no doubt that this is a result of neglecting prayer in congregation. If the questioner had prayed in congregation, he would have known how to pray, and he would have seen people prostrating twice in every unit. But because of his praying at home and not asking, he fell into this great mistake.
Knowledge is sought, and one asks about it, and one does not feel shy in seeking it. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:
Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَاBut Allah is not shy of the truth
وَاللَّهُ لا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّUmm Salamah narrated: Umm Sulaim bint Milhan came to the Prophet and she said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Indeed Allah is not embarrassed of the truth. So is it required of a woman - meaning Ghusl - when she sees in her sleep similar to what a man sees?' He replied: 'Yes. When she finds water (wetness), then she is perform Ghusl.'" Umm Salamah said: "I said to her: 'O Umm SuIaim! You have disgraced the women!'"
نعم، إذا هي رأت الماءThere is no shyness in the truth; one should ask about it, and the Muslim man and woman should seek understanding in it. Mujahid ibn Jabr, the noble Successor (may Allah have mercy on him), said: “The shy one does not learn, and the arrogant one does not learn.” So the shy one does not learn, and the arrogant one does not learn. It is not befitting for a believer to be shy about knowledge. This is not true shyness, but rather weakness, cowardice, negligence, and laziness. Otherwise, true, prescribed shyness leads to good and does not prevent good, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Modesty is all good.
الحياء خير كلهModesty brings forth nothing but goodness
الحياء لا يأتي إلا بخيرModesty is part of faith
الحياء من الإيمانSo shyness is all good. It is a noble character trait that leads to the best of morals and the best of deeds, and it forbids the worst of morals and the worst of deeds.
What appears from the Shari'ah is that you, O questioner, do not have to make up the missed prayers. This is because you are considered to have intentionally neglected them due to your not asking, even though asking was easy for you. And even if you were ignorant and thought that this was correct, the period has been long, and ignorance of this is great. So you must repent and turn back to Allah, seek forgiveness, and not return to such an action. You must ask the people of knowledge about everything, and you must pray from now on as Muslims pray: every unit has bowing and two prostrations. Every unit in the obligatory and voluntary prayers has bowing in the air and two prostrations on the ground. This is necessary.
So you must start your life with this prayer: every unit has bowing and two prostrations. And you must pray with the Muslims in the mosques, and not pray at home. Praying in the mosques with the Muslims is a necessary and obligatory matter, as in the hadith from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever hears the call for prayer and and does not come (to the mosque for prayer), his prayer will not be accepted from him, unless he has a (legitimate) excuse.
من سمع النداء فلم يأت فلا صلاة له إلا من عذرDo you hear the call to prayer?
هل تسمع النداء بالصلاة؟Then respond.
فأجبWhen the Bedouin who entered the mosque and performed the prayer in a hasty manner asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:
go back and pray for indeed you have not prayed.
ارجع فصل فإنك لم تصلWhen you get up to pray, perform ablution perfectly, then face the Qiblah and say: 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the Most Great). Then recite a convenient portion of the Qur'an; then bow and remain calmly in that position for a moment, then rise up and stand erect; then prostrate and remain calmly in that position for a moment, then rise up and sit calmly, then prostrate and remain calmly in that position for a moment; then do that throughout your prayer.
إذا قمت إلى الصلاة فأسبغ الوضوء، ثم استقبل القبلة، فكبر، ثم اقرأ ما تيسر معك من القرآن، ثم اركع حتى تطمئن راكعًا، ثم ارفع حتى تعتدل قائمًا، ثم اسجد حتى تطمئن ساجدًا، ثم ارفع حتى تطمئن جالسًا، ثم اسجد حتى تطمئن ساجدًا، ثم افعل ذلك في صلاتك كلهاSo it is the same for you. Because you left the prayer in reality due to ignorance, lack of insight, and negligence, you must repent to Allah and turn back to Him. You are not obligated to make up the prayers for the past period, as appears from the principles of the Shari'ah and from this noble hadith. May Allah accept your repentance. And you must increase in good deeds and seeking forgiveness, and increase in the remembrance of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), for good deeds erase bad deeds. And Allah is the One to be asked for help. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.