Short answer
In the Hanafi school, yes, if you have fewer than six missed prayers. A person in that position must make up the missed prayer before the current one, unless time is too short or they forgot. Once six or more prayers are owed, the order is no longer required. The Shafi'i school says keeping the order is only recommended.
Keeping the order (tartib) between the current prayer and missed ones, and among up to five missed prayers, is a condition for someone who owes fewer than six. It lapses in three cases: when the missed prayers reach six, when there is not enough time for both, and when you forget. Witr is included in this order.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Making up missed prayers in order, and before the current prayer, is recommended, not required.
- Maliki
- The order is required when only a few prayers are missed, and the current prayer is delayed for them.
- Hanbali
- The order is required, unless you forget or the current prayer's time is about to run out.
Explanation
Say you slept through Fajr and woke at Dhuhr time. In the Hanafi school you first pray Fajr as qada, then Dhuhr. At the Battle of the Trench the Prophet ﷺ missed Asr, and after sunset he prayed Asr first and then Maghrib. Hanafi scholars treat this order as a condition for someone with only a few missed prayers, who is called sahib al-tartib.
The order drops in three cases:
- Six or more missed prayers: you may pray the current prayer first and make up the rest whenever you can.
- Not enough time: if the current prayer's time would run out, pray it first.
- Forgetting: if you did not remember the missed prayer, your current prayer is valid.
Can you pray a missed prayer the next day? Yes, it is still valid and still owed. But make it up as soon as you reasonably can, since delaying a qada without excuse is a further sin. If you owe fewer than six and you remembered the missed prayer but prayed later ones first, the Hanafi texts have detailed rules on which prayers to repeat, so ask a scholar about your case.
For the intention to use, see the intention for a qada prayer. For a long debt of prayers, read making up years of missed prayers and use the qada calculator.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 596
Sahih... فصلى العصر بعد ما غربت الشمس ثم صلى بعدها المغرب ...
"He prayed Asr after the sun had set, then prayed Maghrib after it."
The Prophet ﷺ made up the missed prayer before the current one.
Sahih Muslim 684
Sahih... من نسي صلاة فليصلها إذا ذكرها ...
"Whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers it."
A missed prayer is prayed when remembered, which Hanafis read with the order.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on make-up prayers. Order between missed and current prayers is a condition, and it lapses with six missed prayers, shortage of time and forgetting.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Chapter on make-up prayers. The Hanbali school requires the order unless one forgets or time is short.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Chapter on make-up prayers. In the Shafi'i school the order is recommended.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.