My brother never prays the obligatory prayers, but he never misses the Friday prayer. Is he considered a Muslim?
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The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: My brother never prays the obligatory prayers, but he never misses the Friday prayer. Is he considered a Muslim? No, the Friday prayer does not suffice for him.
The Shaykh:
He must perform the Friday prayer and the obligatory prayers; otherwise, he is not a Muslim. Unless his intention is that he prays at home and does not abandon the prayer, but he only abandons the congregation. In that case, he is one who has left an obligatory duty. But if he does not pray at all except the Friday prayer, then he is a disbeliever. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: And what is required of me toward him?
The Shaykh:
You are required to disapprove of him, advise him, and report him to the committee. And is it permissible for his wife to remain with him? This is referred to the court. If this is established regarding him, there is no need to prove the original state that he is with her, but if it is established that he does not pray, the judge’s ruling is that she separates from him. Yes.
The questioner:
And is it permissible for me to accept his invitation and visit him?
The Shaykh:
If this is for the sake of calling him to Allah and reminding him of Allah, that is good. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to the Jew who was testing him; the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to him and called him to Islam, so he embraced Islam and died upon Islam. If the visit or accepting the invitation is for the sake of encouraging him to repent and inclining him toward repentance and reconciling him for that, then that is a good thing.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: My brother never prays the obligatory prayers, but he never misses the Friday prayer. Is he considered a Muslim? No, the Friday prayer does not suffice for him.
The Shaykh:
He must perform the Friday prayer and the obligatory prayers; otherwise, he is not a Muslim. Unless his intention is that he prays at home and does not abandon the prayer, but he only abandons the congregation. In that case, he is one who has left an obligatory duty. But if he does not pray at all except the Friday prayer, then he is a disbeliever. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: And what is required of me toward him?
The Shaykh:
You are required to disapprove of him, advise him, and report him to the committee. And is it permissible for his wife to remain with him? This is referred to the court. If this is established regarding him, there is no need to prove the original state that he is with her, but if it is established that he does not pray, the judge’s ruling is that she separates from him. Yes.
The questioner:
And is it permissible for me to accept his invitation and visit him?
The Shaykh:
If this is for the sake of calling him to Allah and reminding him of Allah, that is good. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to the Jew who was testing him; the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to him and called him to Islam, so he embraced Islam and died upon Islam. If the visit or accepting the invitation is for the sake of encouraging him to repent and inclining him toward repentance and reconciling him for that, then that is a good thing.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [382 /641] أخي لا يصلي الفروض أبدا ولكن لا تفوته صلاة الجمعة فهل يعد مسلما؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.