Do I Need to Make up the Prayer That I Did as a Child Without Proper Wudu?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Do I need to make up the prayer that I did, before reaching puberty, without proper wudu?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Rulings of the Sacred Law (shari‘a) aren’t applicable to children in the sense that they aren’t completely responsible (mukallaf) for them.

But this doesn’t negate the parental duty to teach and discipline children [from approximately ten years old] so that they pray, fast and the like in order that they become accustomed to such actions, and have the desire to continue doing them after reaching puberty.

Therefore, you don’t need to make up any prayers which you may have invalidated during your childhood. Focus on your current dues, and anything else you owe since puberty, especially financial matters.

[ShaykhiZada, Majma‘ al-Anhur]

Please also see: A Reader on Missed Prayers

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.