Qadha Salaah

Qadha Salaah is the performance of obligatory Salaah that were not performed at their appointed times. It is compulsory to compensate missed Salaah by making Qadha of them unless the Salaah was missed due to insanity or an extended loss of consciousness like a person in a coma.

This ruling only applies to obligatory Salaah and not to Sunnah and Nafl Salaah. Hence for Fajr Salaah, the Qadha will be 2 Rakaats Fardh; for Zuhr it will be 4 Rakaats Fardh; for Asr it will be 4 Rakaats Fardh; for Maghrib it will be 3 Rakaats Fardh and for Esha it will be 4 Rakaats Fardh with the additional 3 Rakaats Witr Waajib.

In completing Qadha Salaah, preference will be given to performing Qadha Salaah over Nafl Salaah. Hence during the times allocated for Nafl Salaah, Qadha Salaah should be performed. This is because there is no accountability for the non-performance of Nafl, unlike Qadha for which a person is accountable.

It is important to draw up a schedule for completing missed Salaah so that its performance may be completed systematically. If a person was genuinely unable to perform the Qadha Salaah during their lifetime, they may bequeath up to 1/3^rd of their estate towards paying Fidyah (monetary compensation) for the missed Salaah. This is not a substitute for Qadha Salaah but it is hoped that the Fidyah will serve as an atonement for the same.

Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)
Council of Muslim Theologians
223 Alpine Road, Overport
Durban, South Africa