Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I am a Muslim convert and without realizing it, I had learned the prayer wrong. I didn’t say the al-Fatiha and another surah for the first two rakaats of Zuhr and Asr, and I didn’t say them for the last set of rakaats in Maghrib and Isha. I thought one was supposed to remain silent and not say anything. My questions are 1) Do I still have to make them up? 2) I’m trying to make up my prayers but adding this to my sunnah and witr prayer is extremely difficult and 3) why is the witr prayer wajib in the Hanafi madhab? I feel my iman is drained and I have difficulty concentrating because of all the prayers I have to do.
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.
In the Hanafi school, obligatory recitation in prayer is simply reciting at least one verse of the Qur’an in two rakats of the obligatory prayer. It is not obligatory to recite the Fatiha (rather it is wajib). If you did this amount, you don’t have to make up those prayers.
You should consider the make up prayers you have to be a gift from Allah, for there is no outward work you can do to draw closer to Allah more effective and powerful than obligatory prayer–such as your make ups. Thank Allah before and after each of these prayers for opening this door of connecting with Him. Perform these prayers with true yearning for Allah, because each prayer is a step you take towards Allah. And Allah tells us in the authentic hadith qudsi, “Whoever comes to Me walking, I rush to them.” (Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Maja)
Witr is necessary (wajib) because of the many hadiths emphasizing it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Witr is a duty, and whoever refuses to perform it isn’t of us.” (Abu Dawud and Ahmad) However, because it is a less emphatic duty than the obligatory prayers, you can first make up your obligatory prayers, and make up your witr prayers after.
Also, remember the counsel of our Beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) that, “Take of religious practice that which you can sustain, for–by Allah!–Allah doesn’t tire until you do.” (Bukhari and Muslim) From “sustaining” one’s practice is that it not be overwhelming for one. Thus, take on a consistent, sustainable amount of make up prayers that is not difficult or draining, and that you can perform meaningfully and with a sense of turning to Allah with true yearning.
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani