Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Can one pray salat at-tawbah, salat al-istikhara, salat al-hajah and other specific nafl prayers if one has qadas? If not, can one intend to pray the nafl prayer along with a qada prayer? For example, when one is praying a qada of Fajr after a fard Maghrib, can they intend it to also be part of the six rak`aat of salat al-awwabeen? If intending a qada along with salat al-istakhara would one simply read the dua of istikhara afterwards?
Answer:
Assalamu alaikum,
It is permitted to pray the specific voluntary (nafl) prayers that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) encouraged even when one has makeup ( qada) prayers with one condition: that performing such prayers does not delay one’s schedule of makeup prayers.
Imam Tumurtashi (Allah have mercy on him) stated in his Tanwir al-Absar:
“It is permitted to delay making up missed prayers [Haskafi: even if they are initially immediately obligatory] for the excuse of providing for one’s dependants, and in one’s needs, according to the sounder opinion.”
Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) explained:
“(His saying, ‘and in one’s needs’)… Means everything one needs for oneself in terms of attaining benefits and avoiding harm [f: such as seeking religious or worldly knowledge, visiting the righteous, one’s family members, or the sick, for example].
As for voluntary prayers, it is mentioned in al-Mudmarat that:
‘Busying oneself with makeup prayers is more incumbent and more important than voluntary prayers, except for: the [f: confirmed and non-confirmed] sunnas prayers related to the obligatory prayers, Duha prayer, Tasbih prayer, and other prayers mentioned in hadiths.’
Such as the prayer for greeting the mosque ( tahiyyat al-masjid), the four rakats before Asr, and the six rakats [f: of the Awwabin prayer] after Maghrib.” [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar `ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar Sharh Tanwir al-Absar]
One should take note about how Muslims were in the past from this passage:
a) even the common people performed these sunna prayers;
b) in general, people lived their worldly lives around their religion (instead of squeezing in a little religion around their worldly life).
In our times, with weaker wills, difficult environments, and often years of prayers to make up or repeat:
a) what certainly should not be left (in normal situations) are one’s confirmed sunna prayers;
b) we should make a schedule of making up our missed prayers that is as much as we can commit to and reasonably expect to sustain;
c) with these, one should attempt to perform a little night prayer, though most of one’s night worship should be devoted to making up missed prayers;
d) other sunnas may be performed when there is a need for them (such as the prayer of seeking guidance ( istikhara)) or if these do not interfere with making up one’s missed prayers at a reasonable rate.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani