How Do I Calculate Missed Prayers When I Do Not Know the Number?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I am trying to estimate the number of missed obligatory prayers from 2 October 2014 to 27 June 2026, which comes to about 21,435 prayers if I missed every one.

I believe I prayed regularly for about 150 days in that time, but I am not certain of every period.

How should I calculate this, what intention should I have, and may I pray ten make-up prayers each day alongside the five daily prayers?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you. Just deciding to face such a large number is an achievement in itself. Many people never even get to this stage.

In short, estimate on the higher side and use that as your target. Only lower the number for periods you are sure about. Praying ten make-up prayers each day, along with your five daily prayers, is allowed.

At that pace, it will take years, not months. I will answer your nine questions one by one.

1. Calculating when you do not know the exact number. If you cannot be sure, go with what seems most likely. Certainty is not removed by doubt: you know the prayer was required, but you are not sure if you prayed it, so you still need to make it up. [Suyuti, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza‘ir]

2. Is a reasonable estimate acceptable? Yes, after so many years, estimating is what you are expected to do. No one in your situation can do better than that. Your estimate should be on the higher side.

3. If you are unsure whether your estimate is too high or too low, choose the higher number. A clear obligation is not removed by an uncertain effort, and any extra prayers you do will not harm you.

4. Using 21,435 as your starting target. The total of 21,435 is correct for that time period. Only subtract days you are sure about. Since you are not certain about the 150 days, keep them in and start with 21,435. If you were sure about all of them, the number would be 20,685. Lower your target as you go along.

5. Adjusting if you later recall praying. If you remember praying on certain days, subtract those prayers. Reducing the number because of a genuine recollection is essentially an accuracy adjustment.

One thing to note: if you are not sure when you reached puberty, use the latest possible date. The strict rule applies to whether you prayed, not to when you became responsible for prayer.

6. Prayers missed deliberately. Be clear-eyed here without being crushed. Prayers left without a valid excuse are a grave matter calling for sincere repentance, and the relied-upon position is that they must be made up immediately, meaning in whatever time is not taken up by necessity.

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Allah have mercy on him) holds that a person in this position may not spend his time on anything else, optional prayers included, beyond what he is genuinely compelled to do. [Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj]

If you take the rule literally for 21,435 prayers, it would be impossible for anyone to keep up, and the scholars do not expect that.

Imam Abdullah al-Haddad (Allah have mercy on him) gave a fatwa allowing people to make up missed prayers at their own pace when the strict approach is too hard. [Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhur, Bughyat al-Mustarshidin]

Use this permission, make a plan you can stick to, and keep following it.

7. The intention. Intend as you would for a prayer performed on time: that you are praying, that it is obligatory, and which prayer it is. Form the intention in your heart, it is an act of the heart, not of the tongue, at the moment you say Allahu akbar.

You need not specify the number of cycles, nor that it is a make-up rather than a current prayer, though specifying is better, and you need not identify which day’s Dhuhr it was. [Nawawi, al-Majmuʿ]

8. Ten make-up prayers a day, along with the five daily prayers. This is allowed and is a good plan. There are two things to note. A make-up prayer has a reason, so you can pray it at any time, even during times when voluntary prayers are usually disliked.

Also, it is recommended but not required to pray your make-ups in their original order, such as Fajr before Dhuhr. If you break the order, it does not affect the validity. [Misri, ‘Umdat al-Salik]

What does this mean in practice? If you do 10 prayers a day, 21,435 prayers will take about 5 years and 10 months. If you do fifteen a day, it will take about three years and eleven months. Pick a pace you can keep up with even after four years.

Keep a basic written record, as seeing your progress helps you stay motivated over time in sha Allah.

9. Reliable sources. In English, Reliance of the Traveler [Umdat al-Salik, translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller] is the essential reference and treats missed prayers at length, and al-Maqasid of Imam Nawawi, also in Shaykh Nuh’s translation, is the standard short primer.

In Arabic: Ibn Hajar al-Haytami’s Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, Abdullah al-Jurdani’s Fath al-Allam bi Sharh Murshid al-Anam, and Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhur’s Bughyat al-Mustarshidin.

Better than reading alone, study this material with a teacher in our Shafiʿi fiqh courses.

Principle and Practical Guidance

The main rule is that a clear obligation is not removed by an uncertain effort, so estimate on the higher side. Also, Allah does not give anyone more than they can handle, so pick a pace you can keep up for years.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Do not let the large number stop you from starting. Each make-up prayer you do pays off a debt and is a step toward repentance.

Allah has kept the door open for you all this time. Start tonight with one set of five prayers, and begin keeping your record tomorrow.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.