Is it obligatory to repeat the prayers of past years, as well as the 'Isha prayer, due to prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) resulting from obsessive whispering (waswasah), or is the person afflicted by waswasah not required to make up what they did based on ijtihad (independent reasoning), especially given the existence of other days of missed prayers that have not yet been completed?

We ask Allah to cure you from the whispers (waswas), and you can benefit from the methods of overcoming them mentioned in fatwas: 59951, 31562, and the consultations section of our website.

The positions for the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood as-sahw) are matters of ijtihad (independent reasoning) and disagreement, on the basis of what is preferred, not what is obligatory, as stated in fatwas: 76481, 74258.

You are not required to repeat any of the prayers in which you performed the prostration of forgetfulness with every prayer, or in which you combined the pre-salam and post-salam prostrations, or in which you prostrated without the Imam, because you are excused by ignorance or misinterpretation in all of that, as stated in fatwa no.: 89535.