Makeup Prayers when not very knowledgeable about Islam?
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Question
Although you may think you've answered this question many times before, my situation is different from what I've read. Before I received guidance from Allah(swt) I was a Muslim by name. My parents are Muslims but I've been raised in the west, went to public school etc. and wasn't exposed to Islam truly. For example I don't recall ever seeing my parents pray once until I was 18 years old and I asked my mom to show me how to pray, I never been to a mosque before then (except when we visited maybe a couple of times for historic places when on vacation), I don't even remember saying the shahada in arabic until I began learning how to pray when I was ~18-although my parents are arabs. Another example is that I knew my parents said we had to fast so me and my siblings used to fast from sunrise until sunset...again it wasn't until I was maybe ~18 when I became interested in Islam that I informed my parents about my discovery from reading that fasting is from DAWN to sunset. My point is that although I was Muslim by name I didn't really understand Islam until later. I knew of Islam what I learned in public school like other non-Muslims like the 5 pillars etc.. So although I knew, that Muslims pray 5 times a day -that idea of it being sinful not to do so wasn't instilled in me: I didn't really understand the idea of disobedience to Allah, sins, and the need to fear and obey Allah (swt). My idea of religion was like those non-Muslims around me- I didn't realize that it was a complete way of life. I remember once I would even joke about Isa(as) because I didn't know that in Islam he was a prophet etc. So anyways I began making up fasts (because I used to eat until sunrise) and finished making them up alhumdulillah. Also I began making up prayers-but lately I've been wondering if I need to make the up. I mean it may be common knowledge among Muslims-but I don't think that I knew then that praying was really important (because my family being probably the only muslims constantly around me didn't pray or tell me to pray) or that not doing it is bad and that Allah might punish me-honestly I just never thought of those things. In many ways when I truly became Muslim I probably felt like non-Muslim converts feel when they first became Muslim. Should I still make up the prayers I missed or am I excused? I really want to spend my time reading Qur'an, learning how to pray sunnah prays etc...but I feel weighed down by not knowing if it's wrong that I stop making up many years of prayer that I still have left. Is there any dispensation from any of the recognized madhhabs? PS. If I must still makeup prayers, Islamically when does puberty start?This answer was published by SunniPath and is preserved as written. Rulings can depend on circumstances; for your own situation, consult a qualified scholar.
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