{"_id":"66e21b190793086d7b66bba0","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Since finding out about needing to make up my prayers, I struggle with salah. What can I do to combat this?\\n\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"I went several years without practicing Islam. Alhamdulillah, I have made tawbah and am now consistent in my obligatory ibadaat. I only recently learned about the need to make up missed prayers. I have made dua'a, and will continue to make dua'a, that Allah grants me success in this matter. I just feel this sense of guilt whenever I fall short of making up 5 prayers in addition to the 5 daily prayers (following the advice of Imam al-Haddad). \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"When I returned to the deen, I felt myself growing spiritually each time I learned something new. However, the prospect of making up so many missed prayers has challenged me spiritually and even presents some cognitive dissonance with my concept of Allah's immense mercy. How might I reckon with this? \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"I felt a stronger sense of sincerity and taqwa before I was told about making up the years of missed prayers, and now, despite intense reflection, dua, and assessment of my daily habits, I struggle to maintain the same relationship with salah. I will never lose hope in Allah, but I feel like I am in need of help navigating this test spiritually.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Truly, Allah's mercy and compassion encompass all His creation. The duty to compensate for missed prayers doesn't imply that Allah hasn't pardoned your lapses. In essence, Allah's forgiveness isn't contingent upon fulfilling makeup prayers; He has already forgiven your past errors. The imposition of obligations by Allah doesn't signify any shortage of His Mercy; otherwise, He wouldn't have prescribed any obligations at all. There's undoubtedly divine wisdom behind the obligation to compensate for missed prayers, just as there is wisdom behind every religious decree. Sometimes our human intellect grasps it, and at other times, it eludes us. Nonetheless, the obligation to make up prayers shouldn't be linked to Allah's mercy; rather, it should be viewed like any other religious duty.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Find solace in the knowledge that Allah has forgiven you for missing those prayers, and realize that making up prayers is simply another religious obligation, not a precondition for Allah's mercy. As long as you intend to compensate for them and exert effort, you're fulfilling that obligation. Do not dwell on the number of prayers to be made up or whether you will ever complete them all; take each prayer one at a time. Continue to beseech Allah for strength and determination, and He will lighten the burden.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Recognize that this is a trial like any other in your life, and in every trial, Allah is the only true refuge. We seek refuge in Allah from everything, including Allah Himself. There's no other source of mercy, fortitude, guidance, and tranquility. Everything from Allah is a mercy to us, serving to fortify our spiritual bond. When that connection strengthens, every religious duty and life's challenges become trivial, and the physical strain is scarcely felt because our soul is too immersed to notice the body's discomfort.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Lastly, when overwhelmed, you can perform the makeup prayer with the bare minimum requirements, taking no more than 2 minutes even for the longest prayers. The absolute minimum entails reciting only sūrah al-Fātiḥah for all units of prayer, pausing briefly in each position without uttering the supplication for each posture, and concluding the prayer with the minimum Tashahhud: \\\"At-taḥiyyatu liLlāh. As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuha n-nabīyyu wa raḥmatu Llāhi wa barakātuh. As-salāmu ʿalayna wa ʿalā ʿibādi Llāhi ṣ-ṣālihin. Ashhadu al lā ilāha illa Llāh(u), wa anna Muḥammadar rasūlu Llāh.\\\" Then, saying \\\"Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammad\\\", followed by the minimal Salām: \\\"As-salāmu ʿalaykum\\\".\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"May you find some benefit in these words.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fe30b76658b4c23281e","tag":"Salah: Other","count":138},{"_id":"668d9fea0b76658b4c2328ed","tag":"Salah: Missed & Make-Up","count":92},{"_id":"66e218aa0793086d7b66bb86","tag":"Imam Al Haddad","count":4}],"createdOn":"2024-09-11T22:35:05.566Z"}