Do supererogatory acts and voluntary prayers compensate for missed obligatory prayers or those that were deficiently performed?
The first thing a servant will be held accountable for on the Day of Resurrection is prayer. If it is not complete, Allah will see if he has any voluntary (supererogatory) acts to complete the deficiency of the obligatory prayer. Then all his other deeds will be treated similarly. Scholars have differed on two issues: 1. Do supererogatory acts compensate for an obligatory duty abandoned intentionally or only unintentionally? Some said: Supererogatory acts compensate for deficiencies due to forgetfulness, not intentional abandonment. Others said: The hadith is to be taken at its apparent meaning and includes both intentional and unintentional deficiencies, which is the more apparent view. 2. Which supererogatory acts compensate for an obligatory duty? First possibility: Supererogatory acts of the specific obligatory duty (e.g., the Sunnah prayers for Dhuhr to compensate for a deficiency in the Dhuhr obligatory prayer). Second possibility: Supererogatory acts of the same type of worship (e.g., supererogatory prayers to compensate for a deficiency in the obligatory prayer, and supererogatory charity to compensate for a deficiency in the obligatory Zakat). This is the most apparent and closest view to the apparent meaning of the hadith. Third possibility: Any supererogatory act, even if it is not of the same type as the obligatory duty (e.g., supererogatory fasting or charity to compensate for a deficiency in the obligatory prayer).
One should not be lenient with obligatory duties and rely on supererogatory acts, for Allah says: "And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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