Answer
Asalamu Alaikum,
Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.
Dr. Shabir Ally, from Let the Quran Speak, addresses this question in the video below:
Transcript:
Aisha Khaja:
“… If one misses prayer intentionally, is he or she’s supposed to pray the missed prayer with repentance, or is just repentance enough?”
Dr. Shabir Ally:
“Well, repentance is part of the prayer. In fact, when we sit at the last sitting in the prayer, a dua that we often read–or many of us read–is reflecting on repentance.
It could be the one that says… “I have harmed myself a great harm, so please, if you do not forgive me and have mercy on me, then certainly I’m one of the wrongdoers”—a dua, or prayer, which was said to be said by Adam and his wife after they committed the first sin.
So that is part of our prayer, anyhow, and even the whole prayer involves a sense of closeness and attachment with God, which is at the root of repentance.
So repentance is part of the prayer, anyway.
But, one can deliberately ask God for forgiveness and should to really ask God, “Please forgive me for having missed my prayer.” It doesn’t have to be said in those words necessarily, but just that frame of mind, that intention.
And now the determination to offer the prayers on their time and you know to to do it consistently, that itself is is what is required.
Now, if there are only a few prayers, then naturally they should be offered as missed. If there are several for… let’s say for years somebody wasn’t praying, then there are two approaches to this.
Some people think that you have to pray them all and they would maybe do them one at a time, each day, so that over time they can finish that obligation.
But, some other scholars say that no there’s no such thing as praying missed prayers from years past and you just ask God for forgiveness and that should be enough.”
Editor’s Note: There is a difference of opinion on this topic. Some scholars, primarily Ibn Hazm, are of the opinion that praying intentionally skipped prayers is not permitted. This is not the majority opinion, and stands on faulty proof.
I hope this helps answer your question. You can also check out more from Let the Quran Speak at the link here.
Please keep in touch.
Walaikum Asalam.
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