Ibn Muhammad
1
Assalamu Alaikum,
In the past, I often let prayer times pass without praying on time. I have seen different fatwas on this: some say you must make up the missed prayers, while others state that you cannot make up for them and that it is a major sin requiring repentance; the prayer is lost even if you pray it later. I have adhered to the second opinion as it seems most authentic to me, especially in light of the Hadith of the Prophet ?, which mentions only two valid excuses for not praying on time: sleep and forgetfulness.
Recently, I came across a scholarly opinion stating that deliberately missing a prayer without a valid excuse constitutes an act of disbelief, removing one from the fold of Islam. This has greatly alarmed me, as I realized I might have become a disbeliever many times in the past. This realization hit me just after I missed the Asr prayer because I had not performed Ghusl in time while in a state of major impurity. I immediately fell into sujood, crying for mercy and asking Allah SWT for forgiveness.
Since that moment, I have not missed any prayers until last night. and now the fear is back in my heart. Yesterday astarfirullah I pulled an all-nighter working on a project for university and the deadline was the next day, I was absorbed and I didn�t pray �Isha but I knew I had to pray so it wasn�t forgetfulness, I was conscious.
I repented now and took my Shahada in the iqamah for Fajr prayer. What scares me the most is an ayah is surat An Nisaa, which warns those who have believed then disbelieved then believed then disbelieved then increased in disbelief that Allah will not forgive them nor guide them on a straight path.
Please tell me if I can still be a Muslim or not, and if I can still have the forgiveness and mercy of Allah. I cannot see my life otherwise. I love Allah so much, and I love everything about His religion and His Prophet ? and His Book and everything. I never stopped believing in Him, not for a single second. I made mistakes and I had doubts but I NEVER turned my back on Him. Please help me. Jazakum Allah khayr.
