Missed Prayers (Qaḍāʾ)

According to the fatwas of the Grand Religious Authorities: Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Sistani, and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi (may Allah prolong their blessings):

Fatāwā presented without citing a differing opinion or a specific reference are the common rulings shared by all of the three respected Marāji‘. In cases where the ruling of one Marjaʿ differs from that of the other two, it is indicated in a footnote under the same number, mentioning the Marjaʿ by name.

General Rules of Substitute (Proxy) Prayer

1. If acts of worship such as prayer or fasting have been missed by a deceased person, it is permissible to hire someone to perform their missed prayers or fasts on behalf of the deceased. It is also permissible for someone to perform them voluntarily and without payment, and by doing so, the responsibility of the deceased is discharged.
2. A prayer that is performed on behalf of a deceased person in return for payment is called a “substitute prayer” or “proxy prayer” (Ṣalāt al-Istījārī).
3. If the deceased had made a will requesting that someone be hired to perform their missed prayers, the cost must be paid from up to one-third of the estate. Any amount beyond one-third requires the permission of the heirs.

Rules Related to the Manner of Performing Substitute (Proxy) Prayers

1. A person who has been hired to perform the prayers of a deceased individual does not need to specify the deceased in detail while making the intention (*niyyah*) for the prayer. Rather, it is sufficient to identify the deceased in a general manner. For example, if someone has been hired to perform prayers for two deceased persons, it is enough to intend that the prayer is being performed for the first deceased person for whom they were hired.
2. If no specific condition has been stipulated for the substitute prayer — such as performing it in congregation or reciting it in a mosque — then the hired person is only required to perform the prayer correctly with all its obligatory acts.
3. It is not a condition that the substitute be of the same gender as the deceased. Therefore, a man may perform the missed prayers of a woman, and a woman may perform the missed prayers of a man, whether as a paid substitute or voluntarily without payment.
4. In reciting the prayer aloud or silently, the substitute must follow their own religious duty. Therefore, if a man is acting as a substitute for a woman’s missed prayers, he must still recite the *Ḥamd* and *Sūrah* aloud in the morning (*Fajr*), sunset (*Maghrib*), and night (*ʿIshāʾ*) prayers.

Conditions and Duties of the Substitute (Hired Person)

A person who acts as a substitute (nāʾib) for performing the missed prayers of a deceased person must meet the following conditions:

1. They must know the rules of prayer correctly, either through ijtihād or valid taqlīd.
2. They must be trustworthy, such that there is confidence that they will perform the prayer correctly.
3. They must not have an excuse that affects the validity of normal prayer performance. For example, a person who must pray sitting down cannot be hired to perform substitute prayers for the deceased.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: substitute prayers for the deceased have the following seven conditions:

1. The substitute must be a Twelver Shīʿa Muslim.
2. The substitute must be sane.
3. Based on obligatory precaution, the substitute must be mature (bāligh).
4. The substitute must intend to act on behalf of the deceased (niyyah of deputation).
5. While performing the act, the substitute must specify the person on whose behalf the prayer is being performed, even if only in a general manner.
6. The person hiring the substitute must have confidence that the substitute will actually perform the act.
7. The substitute must perform the act correctly and validly.

Rules Regarding the Missed Prayers of One’s Father and Mother

The Original Obligation and the Person Responsible

1. It is obligatory upon the eldest son to make up the prayers that were missed by his father and, based on obligatory precaution, also those missed by his mother.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: Making up the mother’s missed prayers is not obligatory upon the eldest son, although it is recommended as a precaution that the eldest son either perform the mother’s missed prayers himself, in the same manner mentioned for the father, or hire someone to perform them.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: It is obligatory upon the eldest son — meaning the eldest surviving son at the time of their death — to perform the prayers and fasts missed by his father or mother, provided they were not neglected out of disobedience and the parents had the ability to make them up. In fact, even if they were abandoned intentionally out of disobedience, it is recommended as an obligatory precaution that the eldest son still perform them. Likewise, regarding fasts missed during travel, even if the parent never found the opportunity to make them up, the precaution is that the eldest son should perform their qaḍāʾ.

2. If the father or mother never performed prayers at all, then based on obligatory precaution, it is still obligatory upon the eldest son to perform their missed prayers.
3. The “eldest son” refers to the oldest son who is alive at the time of the father’s or mother’s death, regardless of whether he is mature (bāligh) or not.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: The eldest son means the oldest son who is alive at the time of the father’s death. Therefore, for example, if a father had two sons but the older son died during the father’s lifetime, then when the father passes away, the other surviving son is considered the eldest son.

4. If the eldest child of the deceased is a daughter and the second child is a son, then the obligation of making up the father’s prayers — and, based on obligatory precaution, the mother’s prayers — falls upon that son, even though he is the second child.

Waiving or Transfer of the Obligation

1. If another person (other than the eldest son) performs the missed prayers of the father or mother, the obligation is lifted from the eldest son.
2. If the eldest son dies after the death of the parents, the obligation of making up the parents’ prayers does not transfer to the other children.

The Extent of the Obligation and the Manner of Performing It

1. The eldest son is only required to make up the number of prayers that he is certain his father or mother missed. If he does not know whether they had any missed prayers, then nothing is obligatory upon him, and investigation or inquiry into the matter is not required.
2. The eldest son must make up the prayers of his father and mother in any way that he is able. If he is unable to do so, then no obligation remains upon him.
3. A person who himself has missed prayers to make up, while also being responsible for the missed prayers of his parents, may choose whichever he wishes to perform first. He is free to give priority to either one.