Question
In the past I happen to miss certain fardh salahs due to not being sure of whether or not my haidh was over. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the prospect of making it up so tended to delay making up the qadha salahs before the next hadhi began. Now I don’t have a proper record of how many such salahs I have missed and only have faint recollections of missing 2 days of salah for a particular period and 3 days for the one before and so on. I can’t remember the exact days or number of days. How can I make qadha, as in
1) How do I calculate the number of days missed
2) How do I keep niyyah while praying the qadha as I don’t remember the days
Answer
You should sit down, reflect and try to remember exactly how many Salaah were missed. If you are unable to remember exactly then you should estimate to the best of your ability. If you are unable to estimate, then you will be required to continue performing Qadha Salaah until your heart feels content that you have performed all your missed Salaah.
Before performing every Qadha, an intention should be made for the Qadha of the specific Salaah missed e.g. when performing Qadha of Zuhr an intention should be made this way that “I am making Qadha of the first Zuhr Qadha that is outstanding upon me as a responsibility.” When this first Zuhr Qadha will be read, then the second one in line will automatically climb up the ladder to the first position. Hence, when performing the next Zuhr Qadha, the same intention will be made (i.e. “I am making Qadha of the first Zuhr Qadha that is outstanding upon me as a responsibility.”). In this way, you will make intention for the other Salaah as well.
Salaah at its appointed time is a Great Command of Allah Ta’aala and an act of Ibaadah. It should not be missed due to mere doubts as this is a grave sin indeed. You should, to the best of your ability, calculate and record your Haidh timeously thereby affording you the fortune of not missing any Salaah. You will definitely be rewarded for any difficulty you undergo in this regard.
Checked and Approved By:
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
References
(حاشية الطحطاوي على المراقي الفلاح ٤٧٤)
(رد المحتار على الدر المختار ٢/٧٦)