Must one make up prayers that were performed incorrectly for a full year due to ignorance of the proper way to pray and mistakes in ablution and recitation of Al-Fatiha?
A person who has recently embraced Islam and was unable to properly perform the obligatory duties, such as purification, prayer, or fasting, due to ignorance of the rulings and the unavailability of a reliable means of acquiring knowledge, and then later realized his error and adhered to the , is not commanded to repeat the missed obligations. He is excused by ignorance, based on the Almighty's saying: "And never would We punish until We had sent a messenger" [Al-Isra: 15], and His saying: "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we forget or make a mistake" [Al-Baqarah: 286]. And based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: "Indeed, Allah has overlooked for my Ummah their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do." This ruling is based on the principle that an ignorant person who was unaware of an obligation is not commanded to make up for what he missed, just as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not command the Bedouin who prayed incorrectly to make up for his past prayers, and Umar did not command him to make up for the prayers he missed due to ritual impurity ().
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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