Prayer: Eldest Son, Unknown Parental Qadā’ and No Means to Fulfill Them: What Should He Do?

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Prayer: Eldest Son, Unknown Parental Qadā’ and No Means to Fulfill Them: What Should He Do?

English:

Question #539:

An elderly man left his family due to certain reasons and it is difficult for him to contact them. He is the eldest son of his parents. During that period, his father passed away and the son is unaware of the number of prayers and other duties his father might have missed. He does not have enough money to hire somebody to perform those missed duties for his father either. Nor does he have the ability to perform them himself due to his elderliness. What should he do?

Answer #539:

It is not obligatory to do qaḍā’ of the missed prayers of the father except for the prayers the eldest son knows for sure that they have been missed. In this case, it is obligatory for the eldest son to perform his father’s missed prayers by any means possible. If he is unable to do so, he has no responsibility in this regard.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Prayer