I Was Sunni, Then Became Shia, Then Returned to Ahl al-Sunnah: Are My Previous Prayers Valid, or Must I Make Them Up?

Third: The Ruling on Prayers Performed During Apostasy If it is established that the questioner fell into one of the nullifiers of Islam, and the conditions of takfir were fulfilled while its impediments were absent, then the prayers he performed during that period are invalid, because being Muslim is a condition for the validity of prayer. The stronger opinion is that if he repents and returns to Islam, he is not required to make up the prayers that he missed or performed during his apostasy.

Fourth: The Obligation of Repentance and Returning to Islam Whoever is established to have apostatized due to a belief or action of disbelief must return to Islam through sincere repentance, pronouncing the two testimonies of faith, and disavowing the belief or action that caused him to leave Islam. Merely leaving the Rafidi sect and adopting the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah is not sufficient if the person continues to persist in one of the nullifiers of Islam. As for someone whose apostasy has not been established, he remains upon his original status as a Muslim and is not required to renew the two testimonies of faith in order to enter Islam, although he must abandon innovations and false beliefs and repent from them. Fifth: The Ruling on His Prayers if He Did Not Fall Into Any of the Nullifiers of Islam If the questioner did not fall into any of the nullifiers of Islam, then the validity of his prayers is determined according to whether they fulfilled the conditions and pillars required for their validity. This includes wudu, as the well-known practice in Imami jurisprudence is to wipe over the uncovered feet instead of washing them. According to Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, this does not constitute valid wudu.

Statements of the Scholars Regarding Making Up Prayers. The ruling on the previous prayers of someone who became Shia and then returned to Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah: If the questioner did not fall into any of the nullifiers of Islam, then the validity of the prayers he performed while following the Shia school depends upon whether he fulfilled the conditions, pillars, and obligations of prayer, including the validity of his wudu. The well-known practice among the Imamiyyah is to wipe over the uncovered feet instead of washing them, and this is not valid according to Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah. Therefore, if he prayed with wudu that lacked one of the conditions required for its validity, his prayer is invalid in principle. The stronger opinion is that whoever neglected some of the conditions, pillars, or obligations of prayer due to ignorance of the Islamic ruling, and was excused because of his ignorance, is not required to make up the previous prayers after their prescribed times have ended. Rather, he must correct his prayer after learning the ruling. If the time for the prayer has not yet ended, he must repeat it in the correct manner. This is the opinion chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله in Majmu al-Fatawa (22/44–45), and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin رحمه الله. They used as evidence the hadith of the man who prayed incorrectly, as the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to repeat his current prayer but did not command him to make up his previous prayers. However, this ruling is not unrestricted. Rather, consideration must be given to the type of condition, pillar, or obligation that was omitted, as well as the state of the person praying in terms of his knowledge, ignorance, and interpretation. Accordingly, the questioner is not required to make up all the prayers he performed while following the Shia school merely because he had adopted that school. Rather, his previous beliefs, the manner in which he performed wudu and prayer, and the extent of his knowledge of Islamic rulings must be examined in order to determine the ruling on his previous prayers.

Sixth: The Ruling on His Prayers Before Adopting the Rafidi Sect The prayers that the questioner performed before adopting the Rafidi sect are valid if they fulfilled their conditions and pillars. He is not required to make them up merely because he subsequently fell into apostasy and then repented from it. This is supported by the statement of Allah, the Most High:

Conclusion: The Rafidi sect contains beliefs of disbelief and shirk, as well as major innovations and misguidance. Whoever believes in or practices one of the nullifiers of Islam, and whose apostasy is established after the relevant conditions are fulfilled and impediments are absent, then the prayers he performed during his apostasy are invalid. He must repent, return to Islam, and pronounce the two testimonies of faith. According to the stronger opinion, he is not required to make up the prayers he performed during that period. As for someone who did not fall into any of the nullifiers of Islam, he is not judged to have apostatized merely because he adopted Shiism. Rather, the validity of his wudu and prayer must be examined. As for the valid prayers he performed before adopting Shiism, he is not required to make them up.