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Fatwa CenterRuling and Method of Making up for Missed Prayers
Question
Asalamu Alaykum, I have missed prayers in the past and they may be due to legitimate reasons and non legitimate reasons. I can remember some of them but I can’t remember all and their circumstances, I want to know how I can fix this situation. Right now I’m not making anything up and just my current ones I’m praying. Is this wrong? Also I think I might need Islamic counseling but my local sheikhs have questionable rulings so I refrain from them, can you refer some reliable sources?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We say to the questioner that there is no legitimate excuse that justifies abandoning prayer for a sane adult Muslim. As for making up missed prayers, the majority of scholars hold that it is obligatory to make up missed prayers whether they were missed intentionally or due to forgetfulness. Therefore, a Muslim must promptly make up the missed prayers and continue doing so until they predominantly think that their obligation has been fulfilled.
Shaykh Mayyarah al-Maliki 
said in Ad-Durr ath-Thamin: “It is stated in Al-Mudawwanah: ‘One should make up missed prayers according to his ability.
Ibn Abi Yahya said: ‘Abu Muḥammad Ṣaliḥ commented: The least a person must do to not be regarded as negligent is to make up the missed prayers of two days within every single day.’ Ibn al-‘Arabi stated: ‘The repentance of an individual who has neglected his prayers is to make up for them. However, he should not combine a missed prayer with a current prayer, nor should he abandon voluntary prayers for these missed prayers. Instead, he should devote himself to making them up day and night, giving them precedence over unnecessary engagements and worldly affairs. Other than essential livelihood needs, he should not prioritize anything over them.’” [End quote]
Ibn Qudamah said in Al-Mughni: If a person has many missed prayers, he should focus on making them up as long as it does not cause undue hardship to his body or wealth. As for his body, hardship occurs if he becomes weak or fears illness. As for his wealth, hardship occurs if he is unable to manage his financial affairs, to the extent that his livelihood is disrupted or he suffers harm, and Imam Ahmed has also explicitly mentioned this. However, if a person does not know the exact number of missed prayers, he must continue making up for them until he is certain he has fulfilled his obligation. Imam Aḥmad has stated (as was narrated by Salih from him) regarding the individual who neglects prayer: ‘He must make up for them until he is certain that he has made up what he neglected.’” [End quote]
You may make up the missed prayers at any time of the day according to what is feasible for you. Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani said in Ar-Risalah: “Whoever has many prayers to make up for, can perform them at any time during the night or day. He can also make up for them at sunrise, at sunset, or in any way that is most convenient for him.” [End quote]
If possible, you should avoid making up the missed prayers of less than two days’ or more in every single day. Ad-Dusuqi, from the Maliki school of jurisprudence, stated in his Hashiyah: “It is sufficient to make up the missed prayers of two days or more in every single day. However, making up only one day’s missed prayers per day is not sufficient, except in cases where doing more would jeopardize the well-being of one’s dependents.” [End quote]
Allah knows best.
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