The questioner says: I am married to a woman and I have four daughters from her, but she does not pray, although she fasts Ramadan. When I asked her to pray, she said...
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The questioner : The questioner says: I am married to a woman and I have four daughters from her, but she does not pray, although she fasts Ramadan. When I asked her to pray, she said that she does not know how to pray and does not know how to recite. I ask for guidance on what my position should be with her. I intend to bring her to perform the obligatory Hajj. Is that valid or not? And what must I do regarding her?
The Shaykh : You mentioned that your wife does not pray, but she fasts, and that when you order her to pray, she says: she does not know how to recite.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you in that case to teach her how to recite, if no one else is teaching her, and then to teach her how to pray. As long as her excuse is ignorance, and the excuse of ignorance is removed by learning, then teach her and guide her to that. Then, if she persists in leaving off prayer after having knowledge, she becomes a disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that, and her marriage is annulled. It is not permissible for her to come to Makkah. However, she should pray. Even if she does not recite well, she should remember Allah, glorify Him, and say Allahu Akbar, and then continue in her prayer. This dhikr serves as a substitute for the recitation until she learns what is obligatory of it.
The questioner : Is there any making up of the days that have passed?
The Shaykh : There is no making up of the days that have passed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : She owes no making up for that, but it is obligatory for her husband to hasten to rectify her situation.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : This is a question from the listener Salah Muslih from Sana'a, the Yemen Arab Republic.
The Shaykh : You mentioned that your wife does not pray, but she fasts, and that when you order her to pray, she says: she does not know how to recite.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you in that case to teach her how to recite, if no one else is teaching her, and then to teach her how to pray. As long as her excuse is ignorance, and the excuse of ignorance is removed by learning, then teach her and guide her to that. Then, if she persists in leaving off prayer after having knowledge, she becomes a disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that, and her marriage is annulled. It is not permissible for her to come to Makkah. However, she should pray. Even if she does not recite well, she should remember Allah, glorify Him, and say Allahu Akbar, and then continue in her prayer. This dhikr serves as a substitute for the recitation until she learns what is obligatory of it.
The questioner : Is there any making up of the days that have passed?
The Shaykh : There is no making up of the days that have passed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : She owes no making up for that, but it is obligatory for her husband to hasten to rectify her situation.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : This is a question from the listener Salah Muslih from Sana'a, the Yemen Arab Republic.