What is the ruling on one who does tayammum for janabah in the winter, even though hot water is available, out of ignorance, and does he have to make up those prayers?

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

What is required of every Muslim man and woman is to learn the religious rulings that he or she needs to know, especially the rulings on purification and prayer, because these are things that no Muslim can do without. Allah, may He be Exalted, has made it easy to seek knowledge, and there are many ways of doing so for the one who wants to learn, praise be to Allah.

In the answer to question no. 70507, we stated that cold weather is not an excuse to do tayammum for one who is able to heat water.

Secondly:

If someone used to pray prayers that were not valid because he was unaware of the rulings on prayer, or because he misunderstood a fatwa that he read, then he should be instructed to repeat the last prayer he prayed, if the time for it has not yet ended. As for the prayers that he offered before that, this is something that Allah overlooks, so he does not have to make them up.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Regarding one who used to pray without deliberation and was unaware that that is obligatory, there is a difference of scholarly opinion: does he have to repeat prayers after the time for them has ended or not? There are two well-known views, which are both views in the madhhab of Ahmad and others.

The correct view is that in such a case, he does not have to repeat the prayers, because it is soundly narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in as-Sahih that he said to the Bedouin who did not pray properly: “Go and pray, for you have not prayed”– two or three times – then the man said: By the One Who sent you with the truth, I cannot do better than this, so teach me what will be good enough for me in my prayer. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught him to pray with deliberation. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). And he did not instruct him to repeat the prayers that he had offered before that time, even though the man said: By the One Who sent you with the truth, I cannot do better than this. Rather he instructed him to repeat that particular prayer, because there was still time left for it, so he was enjoined to pray it within its time. As for prayers for which the time has ended, he did not instruct him to repeat them, even though he had omitted some of their obligatory parts, because he had not known that he was obliged to do that.

Similarly, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to make up the prayers that he did not offer when he was junub, because he did not know that it was permissible to pray after doing tayammum. Another example is the woman who was suffering from istihadah (non-menstrual bleeding): she said to him: I suffer from severe, heavy non-menstrual bleeding that prevents me from fasting and praying. He instructed her to do wudu for each prayer, but he did not instruct her to make up the prayers that she had missed.

The same applies to those who ate during Ramadan until the white thread became distinct from the black thread, so they ate after dawn had broken, but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct them to repeat their fast. They had been unaware of what was required, so he did not instruct them to make up what they had missed when they were unaware of the ruling. By the same token, the disbeliever who enters Islam is not to be instructed to make up what he missed when he was a disbeliever and ignorant of Islamic rulings. This is in contrast to one who was aware of what was obligatory, but did not do it because of forgetfulness; in this case, he is instructed to do it when he remembers it.(Majmu` al-Fatawa, 21/429-431).

Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

`Ammar ibn Yasir became junub, and he thought that purifying oneself in tayammum was like purifying oneself with water, so he rolled in the dust as animals do, and prayed. Then he came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and told him about that, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “It would have been sufficient for you to do like this with your hands” – and he struck the ground with his hands, then he wiped his left hand over his right hand, and the back of his hands, and his face. And he did not instruct him to repeat the prayers for which he had not done tayammum as prescribed in Islamic teachings, and that was because he had been unaware of the ruling.(Jalasat Ramadaniyyah).

See also the answer to question no. 45648.

And Allah knows best.