Question 2097: The parents of a girl did not teach her prayer (salat) under various pretexts, and although she intended to pray, due to not knowing how, she did not pray until the age of 13, until her uncle taught her and she began praying. Is she now obligated to make up (qada) the prayers from ages 9 to 13?
 
                Answer
✅ Answer: Please pay attention to the following hadiths:
1 عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنْ أَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَرَضَ الزَّکَاةَ کَمَا فَرَضَ الصَّلَاةَ الْحَدِیثَ.
📚 Al-Faqih Vol. 2, p. 3
Imam Sadiq (peace of Allah be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah has made Zakat (obligatory charity) a duty, just as He has made prayer a duty!
2 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ الصَّلَاةَ....
📚 Al-Kafi Vol. 3, p. 272
Imam Baqir (peace of Allah be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty has made prayer a duty!
3 عَنْ عَبْداللَّهِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ قَالَ: قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَرَضَ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ الرُّکُوعَ وَ السُّجُودَ أَ لَا تَرَی لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا دَخَلَ فِی الْإِسْلَامِ لَا یُحْسِنُ أَنْ یَقْرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ أَجْزَأَهُ أَنْ یُکَبِّرَ وَ یُسَبِّحَ وَ یُصَلِّیَ.
📚 Al-Tahdhib Vol. 2, p. 147
Imam Sadiq (peace of Allah be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty has made the bowing (ruku') and prostration (sujud) a duty of the prayer. Don't you see that if a person enters Islam and does not know how to recite the Qur'an, it is sufficient for him to say 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Subhan Allah' and pray (in this manner)?!
4 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِی جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: إِذَا نَسِیتَ صَلَاةً أَوْ صَلَّیْتَهَا بِغَیْرِ وُضُوءٍ وَ کَانَ عَلَیْکَ قَضَاءُ صَلَوَاتٍ فَابْدَأْ بِأَوَّلِهِنَّ فَأَذِّنْ لَهَا وَ أَقِمْ ثُمَّ صَلِّهَا ثُمَّ صَلِّ مَا بَعْدَهَا بِإِقَامَةٍ إِقَامَةٍ لِکُلِّ صَلَاةٍ....
📚 Al-Kafi Vol. 3, p. 291
Imam Baqir (peace of Allah be upon him) said: When you forget a prayer or pray it without ablution and you have missed (qada) prayers due upon you, then begin with the first of them, say the Adhan and the Iqama for it and pray it, and then pray the subsequent prayers with one Iqama for each one....
5 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِی جَعْفَرٍ (علیه السلام) في حديث قَالَ:...إِنَّ أَفْضَلَ الْأَشْیَاءِ مَا إِذَا فَاتَکَ لَمْ تَکُنْ مِنْهُ تَوْبَةٌ دُونَ أَنْ تَرْجِعَ إِلَیْهِ فَتُؤَدِّیَهُ بِعَیْنِهِ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ وَ الزَّکَاةَ وَ الْحَجَّ وَ الْوَلَایَةَ لَیْسَ یَقَعُ شَیْءٌ مَکَانَهَا دُونَ أَدَائِهَا وَ إِنَّ الصَّوْمَ إِذَا فَاتَکَ أَوْ قَصَّرْتَ أَوْ سَافَرْتَ فِیهِ أَدَّیْتَ مَکَانَهُ أَیَّاماً غَیْرَهَا وَ جَزَیْتَ ذَلِکَ الذَّنْبَ بِصَدَقَةٍ وَ لَا قَضَاءَ عَلَیْکَ وَ لَیْسَ مِنْ تِلْکَ الْأَرْبَعَةِ شَیْءٌ یُجْزِیکَ مَکَانَهُ غَیْرُهُ...
📚 Al-Kafi Vol. 2, p. 19
Imam Baqir (peace of Allah be upon him) said in a hadith: Indeed, the most virtuous things are those for which, if they are missed by you, there is no repentance for it other than that you return and perform them exactly as they are. Indeed, prayer, Zakat, Hajj, and Wilayah (Guardianship), nothing other than performing them in their place will suffice. And indeed, if fasting is missed by you, or you fall short, or you travel, you perform (fasting) on days other than it in its place and you compensate for that sin with an expiation (kaffarah), and no make-up (qada) is upon you. But for those four matters (i.e., prayer, Hajj, Zakat, and Wilayah), nothing other than them in their place will suffice you!
✅ Prayer is one of the divine duties upon believers, which, according to the above hadiths and others, nothing takes its place, and if an individual misses it, they are obliged to make it up exactly as it is.
✅ In the scenario of the question, although this girl is excused due to not knowing the quality of the prayer and lacking access to someone who could teach her the prayer, now that she has learned the prayer, the making up of the missed prayers is not waived from her, and she must make them up gradually and complete the duty of prayer from the time of puberty (taklif) onwards.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْر