Q 520: I was about seventeen years old and I did not know anything concerning seminal emission, ghusl, and the like. I had not even heard from anyone anything about these things. I did not understand the meaning of janābah or the necessity of ghusl. So if my prayers and fasts until that time were wrong, what is my duty now?
A: It is obligatory to do qaḍā’ of all the prayers that you did in the state of janābah. However, the fasts that you kept in this state without knowing any thing about the state of janābah are correct and sufficient, and there is no need to do their qaḍā’.
Q 521: Unfortunately, due to my ignorance and lack of will power I had got into the evil habit of masturbation, and so I did not perform prayers at times. But I do not know how long I abandoned prayers, as it was not one continuous period (I would not have prayed when I was junub until I took ghusl, although it may have been delayed for a while), but I think that it lasted for six months. I have made up my mind to perform the qaḍā’ of my prayers for this period. Is it obligatory to perform qaḍā’ of these prayers?
A: You must perform the qaḍā’ of all daily prayers that you know you did not perform or you performed while you were junub.
Q 522: Some people do not know whether qaḍā’ prayers are due on them on not. Assuming that they are really responsible for some qaḍā’ prayers, are their mustaḥabb or nāfilah prayers considered as qaḍā’ prayers?
A: Nāfilah and mustaḥabb prayers do not count as qaḍā’ prayers and if any qaḍā’ prayers are due upon someone then they must perform them with the intention of qaḍā’ prayers.
Q 523: It has been about six months since I reached the age of shar‘ī puberty. Up until some weeks before my age of shar‘ī puberty I was under the impression that there was only one sign of ritual maturity, i.e. the completion of fifteen lunar years. Then I happened to read a book which spoke of the signs of maturity for boys. I read there of other signs of maturity which I really possessed but do not know the date of their occurrence. So, do I now have to perform the qaḍā’ of my prayers and fasts? Taking into consideration that I would sometimes perform prayers and that I fasted the whole of Ramadan last year, what is the ruling in this case?
A: It is obligatory to perform the qaḍā’ of all the prayers and fasts that you are certain you missed after becoming ritually mature.
Q 524: If a person performs janābah ghusl three times in the month of Ramadan, say for example, on the twentieth, twenty-fifth and twenty-seventh of the month, and afterwards becomes certain that one of these ghusls was incorrect, what is the ruling with respect to his prayers and his fast?
A: His fast is correct, but it is based on caution that he must perform the qaḍā’ of some prayers so that one becomes certain that he has discharged his obligations.
Q 525: What is the ruling on the prayers and fasts of a person who for some time, due to ignorance of the ruling, did not observe the proper order in performing his ghusl?
A: If he was performing his ghusl in a manner which is voi according to Islamic law, he would be obliged to do qaḍā’ of all his prayers that he prayed without ghusl. But regarding fasts, if he thought that his ghusl was correct, his fasts are ruled to be correct.
Q 526: How should one perform the qaḍā’ prayers of one year?
A: He must start with one of the prayers and perform it in the same sequence as he performs the five daily prayers.
Q 527: If a person has a lot of qaḍā’ prayers due on him, is it permissible for him to perform them in the following manner:
i. To perform morning prayers, say twenty times;
ii. The noon and afternoon prayers, twenty times;
ii. maghrib and ‘ishā’ prayers, twenty times, continuing in this way for a year?
A: There is no problem in performing the qaḍā’ prayers in the manner described.
Q 528: Someone’s head was injured causing damage to a part of his brain. As a result, his left hand and foot as well as his tongue were paralyzed. Moreover, he has forgotten how to pray and is not able to learn it either. But he can make out the different parts of prayers by following a book or by listening to a tape. Presently, he is faced with two problems with respect to his prayers. First, he is not able to make his urinary outlet pure or to perform wuḍū’. Second, he has a difficulty with recitation in prayers. What is the ruling in this case? And what about the prayers he has not performed over the last six months?
A: If he is able to do wuḍū’ even with the help of somebody else, or to do tayammum, then it is obligatory for him to perform his prayers in anyway he is able to, even if he has to listen to a tape, or look at a book, or whatever it may be. As for the missed prayers it is obligatory for him to perform their qaḍā’ unless he was unconscious and the unconsciousness took all the time of the prayer.
Q 529: In my youth I missed my noon and afternoon prayers more than maghrib, ‘ishā’ and morning prayers. But I do not know their number, order or sequence. Should I perform dawr prayers in this case? What are dawr prayers? Please clarify this matter for me.
A: It is not necessary to observe the order in qaḍā’ prayers — except for noon and afternoon / maghrib and ‘ishā’ prayers of one day — and it is enough to perform as many prayers as you are certain you have missed. Dawr, i.e. repetition of the prayers to ascertain their performance in order, is not obligatory for you.
Q 530: After marriage, I occasionally experienced emissions of a liquid which I thought to be najis, and therefore, performed janābah ghusl having its intent in mind and then offered prayers without performing wuḍū’. This liquid is called madhi in the books on practical laws of Islam, and now, I do not know the rule regarding the prayers I performed without wuḍū’ but with janābah ghusl while I was not junub?
A: It is obligatory to make up for all of the prayers which you offered without wuḍū’ but with janābah ghusl after experiencing the liquid’s emission.
Q 531: A non-Muslim converts to Islam after a period of time, is it obligatory for them to make up for the prayers and fasts they missed?
A: it is not obligatory.
Q 532: Due to misguiding propaganda of communists, some people did not perform their prayers and other obligatory duties for some years. But, after reading Imam Khomeini’s letter to the leaders of the USSR, they repented. Now they are not able to make up for their missed obligations. What is the rule regarding them?
A: It is obligatory for them to make up for the missed obligatory prayers and fasts as much as possible and to make a will for those whose qaḍā’ they are not able to perform.
Q 533: A person died while he had to perform the qaḍā’ of some fasts of Ramadan and some prayers. He has no son. However, he left behind a certain amount of wealth. If this wealth is spent for the performance of the qaḍā’ of his missed fasts, the qaḍā’ of his prayers will remain outstanding and vise versa. In this situation, which one of the two should be given priority over the other?
A: None of the fasts and the prayers has any priority. It is not obligatory for the heirs to spend his wealth for making qaḍā’ of his fasts and prayers unless he left a will that someone is hired, out of the one third of his wealth, to perform of his qaḍā’ prayers and fasts as much as 1/3 of his wealth can afford.
Q 534: Most often I offered my prayers and performed the qaḍā’ of those which I missed either because I was asleep during their times or my body and clothes were najis and I failed to clean them due to laziness. Now, how could I calculate the number of the missed daily, āyāt, and shortened prayers due on me?
A: It suffices to perform qaḍā’ of the missed prayers as much as you are certain about. Out of this number, perform that number of shortened and āyāt prayers that you are certain about and offer the remaining as daily prayers. There is nothing else obligatory for you.