Q. What is the ruling about offering a prayer as qada, when one has missed it during its proper time? And if one joins a congregational prayer late, having missed one or two rak’ahs, and then offer them after the congregation has finished, how should he treat the ones he is offering at the end?
T. Baig, Riyadh
A. Some schools of Islamic law say that if you miss an obligatory prayer for any reason, you should offer it as soon as possible when you can do so.
This is what is called as qada, or compensatory prayer. However, the other view, which is better supported by evidence, is the one that says that prayers can only be offered in their time range.
The only exception is when a person is unconscious of a prayer, as in the case of forgetting it or sleeping through its time, or being actually unconscious, as when one is suffering from an illness. In these cases, one prays the prayer one had missed as soon as possible after one wakes up or when one has remembered the forgotten prayer. In this case, it is offered on time, not as compensatory. This is based on the Hadith that says: “Whoever sleeps through the time of a prayer or forgets it should offer it when he is conscious of it, for that is the time when it is due.”
If one joins a congregation late and completes it after the imam has finished he may consider the rak’ahs he is completing to be either the first of his prayer or the last. Scholars have expressed both views. However, I am more inclined to consider that the first part which one offers with the imam to be his first, even though the rak’ah may be the third or the fourth for the imam. Suppose he offered two rak’ahs with the imam, then the ones he completes are his third and fourth. This is the view I find weightier, but the other view has its validity.
