The short answer
Missed prayers from sleep or forgetting are prayed when you remember them, as the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says in Sahih Muslim 684c, graded sahih (authentic). Making up a prayer is called qada (also spelt qaza). For a prayer missed on purpose, Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-Mujtahid reports that the majority require the make-up, and records a dissent.
What should I do if I slept through or forgot a prayer?
The hadith answer is short: pray it when you remember. Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reports the Prophet saying that whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers it.
1AuthenticSahih Muslim 684c
- Work out which prayer you missed.
- Make wudu as you would for any prayer (see how to perform wudu). In the account of the missed Fajr below, wudu comes before the prayer. 2
- Pray it the way you would have prayed it on time. Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-Mujtahid says the make-up takes the form of the on-time prayer when both are the same obligatory prayer. 7 For the number of rak'ahs, see how many rakats are in each prayer.
- If you have more than one prayer to make up, or the next prayer's time is nearly over, read the section on order: the schools differ there.
Ibn Rushd adds that the schools differ over a prayer owed at home and made up while travelling, or the reverse. Malik says to make up what was owed, al-Shafi'i says the full home form in both cases, and others follow the state you are in now. 7
What happened when the Prophet and his companions slept through Fajr?
Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports in Sahih al-Bukhari 595, graded sahih (authentic), that they were travelling with the Prophet one night. Some of the people asked him to stop with them to rest at the end of the night. He said he feared they would sleep through the prayer, and Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, said he would wake them. They lay down, and Bilal leaned his back against his mount; his eyes overcame him and he slept.
The Prophet woke when the edge of the sun had already risen, and asked, "Bilal, where is what you said?" Bilal said a sleep like it had never come over him. The Prophet said that Allah took their souls when He willed and returned them when He willed, and told Bilal to call the people to prayer. Wudu was made, and when the sun had risen and turned white, the prayer was offered.
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 595
A longer report from Abu Qatadah in Sahih Muslim 681, also graded sahih (authentic), describes a group who slept through Fajr while travelling. In it the Prophet prays two rak'ahs and then the morning prayer after the sun has risen, and says there is no omission in sleep, but that omission lies with one who does not pray until the next prayer's time comes.
3AuthenticSahih Muslim 681
If you slept through a prayer, the report's words that there is no omission in sleep are a kind place to start. Both reports are about sleep. For prayers missed for other reasons, see the section on prayers missed on purpose.
Is there a set number of minutes to wait after sunrise?
Not in the reports cited here. Sahih al-Bukhari 595, graded sahih (authentic), says the prayer came when the sun had risen and turned white, with no clock time. 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, reports in Sahih Muslim 831, graded sahih (authentic), that the Prophet forbade prayer at three times, the first from when the sun is rising until it is up. That report gives no number of minutes either.
4AuthenticSahih Muslim 831
The Hanafi al-Durr al-Mukhtar says every time of one's life is a time for make-up except the three forbidden times. 8 The other schools' works were not checked on this point. If you wake just as the sun is rising, ask a scholar of your school, and see zawal and the forbidden prayer times for what the reports say about those times.
What do qada, fawa'it and tartib mean?
These are the words the works below use. The short glosses are ours, a learning aid; the works named are the sources.
| Word | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| ada' | Performing the prayer itself. Ibn Rushd opens the fourth part of his Book of Prayer by saying it covers what is not ada': repeating a prayer, making it up, and repairing it with prostration. 9 |
| qada (also spelt qaza) | Making up a prayer after its time. Ibn Rushd's chapter on it is "fi al-qada'". 9 |
| fawa'it | Missed prayers. The Hanafi chapter heading in al-Durr al-Mukhtar is Bab qada' al-fawa'it, making up missed prayers. 8 |
| tartib | Order: making up missed prayers in the order they were missed, and before the current prayer. 711 |
What if I missed prayers on purpose?
If you are coming back to prayer after a long gap, welcome back. The question here is what to do next.
Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-Mujtahid reports that Muslims agree make-up is required of someone who forgot or slept, and that they differ over someone who left a prayer on purpose until its time ended. He reports that the majority hold such a person is sinful and must make the prayer up. He records that some Zahiri scholars, Ibn Hazm among them, held that the prayer is not made up, while also counting the omission as sinful. 9
The difference, Ibn Rushd explains, turns on whether someone who chose to miss a prayer can be compared with someone who forgot. So the work records a majority and a dissent, not a consensus. For your own history, a scholar you trust can talk you through repentance, your school's position and a plan you can keep.
Do missed prayers have to be made up in order?
It depends on the school, and on how many prayers are missed. The table gives one named work for each school and what that work states.
| School and work | What the work says |
|---|---|
| Hanafial-Durr al-Mukhtar, with Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, 2/65 to 2/68 | Al-Durr al-Mukhtar says order between the five obligatory prayers and Witr is binding, on time and in make-up. It drops when the preferred time is too short, when the missed prayer is forgotten, or when six obligatory prayers have been missed, counted once the time of the sixth has ended. Ibn 'Abidin adds that Witr is not counted towards the six. 8 |
| MalikiIbn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/194, reporting Malik | Ibn Rushd reports that Malik required order for five prayers or fewer, starting with the missed prayer even if the current prayer's time passes, and that remembering a missed prayer during the current one spoils the current one. He reports that order drops when the missed prayer is forgotten. 7 |
| Shafi'ial-Nawawi, al-Majmu', 3/68 and 3/70 | Al-Nawawi says that in his school order is recommended, not obligatory, and that a make-up prayed out of order is valid. If the current prayer's time has become narrow, the current prayer comes first. 10 |
| HanbaliIbn Qudamah, al-Mughni, 1/434 to 1/437 | Ibn Qudamah says order is obligatory in make-up even when the missed prayers are many, as Ahmad stated. It drops when the person fears the current prayer's time will end, which he calls the correct position in the school; he records another narration from Ahmad that keeps order either way. 11 |
One report shows a make-up prayer followed by the current one. Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports it in Sahih al-Bukhari 596, graded sahih (authentic). On the day of the Trench, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, came after sunset and said he had barely prayed Asr before the sun was about to set. The Prophet said, "By Allah, I have not prayed it." They went to Buthan and made wudu, and he prayed Asr after sunset, then Maghrib after it.
5AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 596
Al-Nawawi cites Jabir's report when recommending order. 10 The table above gives each work's own rule. If you have several prayers to make up and the next prayer's time is nearly over, ask a teacher of your school how its rule applies.
What if I have years of missed prayers to make up?
A long list can feel heavy. Three of the works read here speak directly about the pace of catching up.
| School and work | What the work says |
|---|---|
| Hanafial-Durr al-Mukhtar, with Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, 2/74 | Al-Durr al-Mukhtar says many missed prayers may be delayed, though make-up is due promptly, for the excuse of earning for one's dependants and, on the most correct view, for one's needs. Ibn 'Abidin explains that the person works and makes up what he can after finishing, again and again until they are complete. 12 |
| Shafi'ial-Nawawi, al-Majmu', 3/69 | Al-Nawawi says a prayer missed with an excuse may be made up later, though doing it promptly is recommended. For a prayer missed without an excuse he records two views in the school and calls correct the view that make-up is required promptly. 13 |
| HanbaliIbn Qudamah, al-Mughni, 1/439 | Ibn Qudamah says that when missed prayers are many, the person keeps busy making them up, as long as this does not harm his body (weakness or fear of illness) or his livelihood. He adds that Ahmad stated the sense of this. 14 |
The Maliki passage read for this guide (Ibn Rushd on order) does not cover the pace of catching up, and Maliki works on pace were not checked, so there is no Maliki row. The hadith cited here set no daily number of make-up prayers. A routine such as one make-up prayer alongside each of today's prayers is something to agree with a scholar who knows your school and your life; it is not a number from the reports.
Say you start by writing two lists: the prayers you know you missed, and the stretch you are unsure about. That makes the conversation with a scholar shorter and calmer.
When I started praying regularly again, I felt buried by the prayers I had missed. What helped was a small notebook where I ticked off one extra prayer each day. Seeing the ticks add up kept me going.
Try it: the reports and the works
Four checks, each with its source.
1Which two cases does Sahih Muslim 684c name?
Answer: Sleep and forgetting. The report names whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, and gives praying it on remembering as its expiation. Source 1
2Does Sahih al-Bukhari 595 give a number of minutes to wait after sunrise?
Answer: No. It says he prayed when the sun had risen and turned white. The report describes the sun rising and turning white before the prayer. It gives no clock time. Source 2
3What does Ibn Rushd record about a prayer missed on purpose?
Answer: A majority view that it is made up, and a dissent. Bidayat al-Mujtahid reports that the majority require the make-up, and that some Zahiri scholars, Ibn Hazm among them, did not. Source 9
4Which work says order in make-up prayers is recommended rather than obligatory?
Answer: The Shafi'i al-Majmu'. Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' says that in his school order is recommended, not obligatory. The Hanafi and Hanbali works make it binding, with exceptions. Source 10
Questions people ask
Can charity or fidyah (a compensation payment) replace a missed prayer?
Sahih Muslim 684c gives praying the prayer as the expiation for one forgotten or slept through, and Sahih al-Bukhari 597 adds that it has no expiation except that; both are graded sahih. The Hanafi work al-Durr al-Mukhtar says that a fidyah paid during one's own illness for one's prayers is not valid, unlike fasting. For a relative who has died with prayers missed, ask a scholar you trust. The other schools' works were not checked on fidyah.
What if I do not know how many prayers I missed?
The Hanbali work al-Mughni says that someone who does not know how many prayers he owes keeps making them up until he is certain they are covered, and reports this from Imam Ahmad. The other schools' works were not checked on this point. Writing down what you know for certain, and what you are unsure about, gives you something to take to a scholar you trust.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. A grading is shown with the collection that gives it, and the scholar's name is given where a grader is quoted. We do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Anas ibn Malik reports the Prophet saying that whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers it.
Sahih Muslim 684c Book 5, Hadith 401
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 2
Abu Qatadah reports that, travelling with the Prophet one night, they slept through the prayer: the Prophet woke when the edge of the sun had risen, told Bilal to call the people to prayer; wudu was made, and when the sun had risen and turned white the prayer was offered.
Sahih al-Bukhari 595 Book 9, Hadith 70
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
A group sleeps through Fajr while travelling; the Prophet prays two rak'ahs then the morning prayer after the sun has risen; the report says there is no omission in sleeping, and that omission lies with one who does not pray until the next prayer's time comes; the one who sleeps should pray when he wakes.
Sahih Muslim 681 Book 5, Hadith 395
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 4
'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani says there were three times in which the Prophet used to forbid them to pray or to bury their dead: when the sun is rising until it is up, when the sun stands at its height at midday until it inclines, and when it leans towards setting until it sets.
Sahih Muslim 831 Book 6, Hadith 357
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 5
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reports that on the day of the Trench 'Umar came after sunset saying he had barely prayed Asr before the sun was about to set; the Prophet said he had not prayed it; they went to Buthan and made wudu, and he prayed Asr after sunset and then Maghrib.
Sahih al-Bukhari 596 Book 9, Hadith 71
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 6
Anas reports the Prophet saying that whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers it, and that it has no expiation except that.
Sahih al-Bukhari 597 Book 9, Hadith 72
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 7
Ibn Rushd says the form of a make-up prayer is the form of the on-time prayer when both are the same obligatory prayer, and reports that Malik required order for five prayers or fewer, Abu Hanifa and al-Thawri similarly but only while the current prayer's time is ample, and al-Shafi'i did not require order.
Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/193 to 1/194 (shamela.ws book 21739) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-ibn-rushd-form-order.
- 8
The Hanafi al-Durr al-Mukhtar, printed with Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, says order between the five obligatory prayers and Witr is binding on time and in make-up, and that it drops when the preferred time is too short, when the missed prayer is forgotten, or when six obligatory prayers have been missed, counted once the time of the sixth has ended.
al-Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar, with Ibn 'Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar 2/65, 2/66 and 2/68 (shamela.ws book 21613) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-hanafi-radd-order.
- 9
Ibn Rushd reports that Muslims agree make-up is required of the one who forgot and the one who slept, and that they differ over the one who left the prayer deliberately: the majority hold he is sinful and must make it up, while some Zahiris, Ibn Hazm among them, hold he does not make it up and is sinful.
Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/189 and 1/192 to 1/193 (shamela.ws book 21739) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-ibn-rushd-who-makes-up.
- 10
Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' says that in the Shafi'i school order in making up missed prayers is not obligatory but recommended, and that if the current prayer's time has become narrow the current prayer must come first.
al-Nawawi, al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab 3/68 and 3/70 (shamela.ws book 2186) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-shafii-majmu-order.
- 11
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says order is obligatory in making up missed prayers even when they are many, as Ahmad stated, and that it drops when the person fears the current prayer's time will end; he records another narration from Ahmad keeping order in both cases.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 1/434 to 1/437 (shamela.ws book 8463) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-hanbali-mughni-order.
- 12
The Hanafi al-Durr al-Mukhtar says many missed prayers may be delayed, though make-up is due promptly, for the excuse of earning for one's dependants and, on the most correct view, for one's needs; Ibn 'Abidin explains that the person works and makes up what he can after finishing; the same page says paying fidyah for one's prayers during one's illness is not valid, unlike fasting.
al-Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar, with Ibn 'Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar 2/74 (shamela.ws book 21613) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-hanafi-radd-delay.
- 13
Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' says a prayer missed with an excuse may be made up later, though making it up promptly is recommended, and that for a prayer missed without an excuse the view he calls correct is that make-up is required promptly.
al-Nawawi, al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab 3/69 (shamela.ws book 2186) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-shafii-majmu-promptness.
- 14
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says that when missed prayers are many the person occupies himself with making them up as long as this does not bring hardship to his body or his wealth, and that if he does not know how many he owes he keeps making up until he is certain he has discharged them.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 1/439 (shamela.ws book 8463) Read on shamela.ws, a typed transcription of the printed edition, on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-missed-hanbali-mughni-many.
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