The Ruling on a Woman Making Up Prayers She Missed Due to Ignorance of the Rulings on Menstruation

Question:
A sister of ours from Riyadh sent a message saying: Your daughter: (M. M. Sh.) Our sister says: I have a question which summarizes as follows: I want to make up some of the prayers that I missed, and I want to know how to repeat them, because in the past I was unable to estimate the time of my monthly period, and some days would pass and I would not know which were days of purity, so I would miss the prayer. I used to make them up, but I later learned that the way I was making them up was incorrect.
Please, may Allah reward you, Father Shaykh Abdulaziz, clarify for me and for the Muslim sisters how to make up the prayers, and it would be desirable if you sent a special message to women on this topic.
May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
It is obligatory for a woman to pay attention to her menstruation and her purity. If the period she knows has passed, whether it is five or six days, or more or less, she should take a bath, pray, fast, and become lawful to her husband, until the period comes, until the cycle comes. If the cycle increases and decreases, there is no harm; women's periods may change, increasing or decreasing. It may be five days in some months and six days in other months, or seven days, and there is no blame. Whenever she sees blood, she does not pray, does not fast, and does not become lawful to her husband. And whenever she sees purity—the white discharge—or she checks with cotton or the like and sees it is clean, she takes a bath, prays, and fasts, and praise be to Allah.
As for if the blood continues with her, she is a woman with irregular bleeding (mustahadhah) if the blood continues with her for more than fifteen days. If it continues with her, she is a mustahadhah who prays and fasts at all times and stops praying during the time of her usual period. So when the cycle comes, she stops and does not pray or fast for the number of days of the cycle, five or six or seven, or the like.
So when the cycle ends, she takes a bath, prays, and fasts, and these bloods that are with her are considered irregular bleeding, blood of corruption. She prays with it and fasts with it and becomes lawful to her husband, because these are bloods that do not prevent prayer. Rather, they are called irregular bleeding. So she performs ablution for the time of every prayer, she protects herself with cotton or other things that reduce the blood for her, and she prays at all times in their times.
And if she combines the times of Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, there is no harm, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught Hinnah bint Jahsh when her blood increased. And if she takes a bath for Dhuhr and Asr in one bath, and for Maghrib and Isha in one bath, that is better, and for Fajr in one bath as well, along with ablution. She performs ablution for every prayer, but the bath is better and is not obligatory in the case of irregular bleeding—meaning: in the days between the two cycles—and the blood flows in them. These are called days of irregular bleeding. So if she prays in each time in its time, there is no harm: Dhuhr in its time, Asr in its time, Maghrib in its time, and Isha in its time. She performs ablution when the time enters, she cleans herself and performs ablution, or she wipes with tissues and the like, until she removes the impurity from her private parts, then she performs the ablution for prayer and prays every prayer in its time. This is permissible. And if she combines the two prayers, Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, that is better, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught Hinnah bint Jahsh. And if she takes a bath with that, it is better: a bath for Dhuhr and Asr, a bath for Maghrib and Isha, and a bath for Fajr, by way of recommendation. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
She hopes that the Shaykh, may Allah reward him, will guide her on the topic of repeating the prayers, i.e., making them up?

The Shaykh: If she knows something, she makes it up. But if she does not know, then doubts (waswas) should be discarded. If she knows that she was deficient in some of the prayers that were obligatory upon her in a state of purity, and that the matter became confused for her, if she knows something, she makes it up. But if she does not know anything, and it is only doubts and suspicions, she should not pay attention to them, and she should seek refuge in Allah from Satan, and not pay attention to them.
As for the thing that is left intentionally, with negligence and lack of concern, there is no cure for this except repentance. Repentance to Allah and regret for what she did. This is sufficient, and there is no making up for it. For if a Muslim leaves the prayer intentionally, there is no expiation for it except repentance, because leaving it is disbelief. We seek refuge in Allah from that. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
If he leaves it intentionally, as an act of aggression and deliberate intent, not out of forgetfulness or ignorance of some rulings, but rather he deliberately leaves it, then he has committed a great disbelief. We seek refuge in Allah. And he must repent to Allah from that, and he does not make up anything.
As for the one who leaves it due to illness or confusion, then he realizes and knows that it is obligatory upon him to pray, and he did not intentionally leave it out of negligence, but some people may think that if he delays it until his illness is gone, it will be better. This is a mistake on his part. He prays according to his condition, even if he is sick. He prays sitting if he is unable to stand, he prays on his side if he is unable to sit, he prays lying down if he is unable to pray on his side, and he does not delay it, and he does not leave it. Rather, he must pray it in its time, in whatever state he is: standing, sitting, on his side, or lying down, according to his ability: [At-Taghabun: 16]. And thus the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the sick person. He said to 'Imran ibn Husayn, and he was sick: Thus the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him. And this is the obligation for the sick wherever they are. They do not delay the prayer. No one has the right to delay it from its time. Rather, either he prays it in its time, or he combines it with its companion, like Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, due to an illness that afflicted him, and a condition that afflicted him. And like the woman with irregular bleeding as well, and like the traveler. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you. So, how is the making up done, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh: The way of making it up is as you heard. She must make up what she left out of forgetfulness, or what she left due to illness, thinking that delaying it was better, and then she learned that she was wrong in delaying it. She makes it up. So she makes it up as the forgetful person makes it up, and as the one who slept through it makes it up, and the like.
As for the one who left it intentionally out of negligence and lack of concern, this has nothing except repentance, and he is not required to make it up, according to the correct opinion of the scholars.

The presenter: May Allah reward you. So: there is no specific time for making up, and it is not required that every obligatory prayer be made up with its like?

The Shaykh: No, making up is required immediately if it was due to sleep or forgetfulness; one should hasten to do it. Because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This is the one who has an excuse. As for the one who left it without an excuse, intentionally and negligently, then he must have sincere repentance, and there is no making up for him, according to the correct opinion. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.