Making Up Missed Prayers - How to Deal with Fajr and Asr
Assalamu alaikum - please keep me in your duas as I try to actually get serious about making up my missed prayers. I want to catch up by doing extra prayers (basically making qada one after the other), but I heard that you can’t do voluntary prayers right after Fajr or after Asr. Does that mean I should skip trying to make up Fajr and Asr? I’m a bit confused about those two times. From what I’ve learned, don’t mix up the rulings for nafl and qada. Voluntary nafl prayers are generally disliked during the times right after Fajr until sunrise, when the sun is at its highest, and right after Asr until sunset. But making up missed obligatory prayers (qada) isn’t the same as doing extra nafl - you can still make qada, you just need to avoid the clearly forbidden moments (the sunrise, zenith, and sunset times). Practical tips that helped me: try to do missed prayers as soon as you can, but not in the forbidden windows. A simple plan is to add one qada each time you pray (e.g., after Dhuhr do your missed Dhuhr), or set aside a regular time (like after Isha or before Fajr) to work through a few qada prayers at a stretch. If you missed Fajr, don’t worry - you can make it up later in the day once the prohibited time is over. Same idea for Asr, just be mindful of sunset times. If you follow a particular madhhab, it’s a good idea to ask your local imam or a knowledgeable person for any specific details. And again, keep me in your duas - I’ll keep you in mine as well.