The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer and the Intention of Divorce in the Phrase of Disavowal
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The questioner:
I ordered my wife to pray repeatedly, and when I am present at home, she prays, but when I am absent from the home, I strongly suspect that she does not pray without an excuse. When I left my country and traveled to another country, I sent her a message advising her to pray and emphasizing the necessity of maintaining it, and I said, "If you do not pray, I am disavowed of you until the Day of Resurrection." I spoke these words, but my heart did not believe them. We ask for your opinion on this matter. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
You did well in your concern for your wife’s prayer and in urging her to do so. This is what Allah has made obligatory upon you. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:[An-Nisa 4:34] over some of them. And because she is your companion, the mother of your children, and your partner in the home, you must compel her to pray. Prayer is a pillar of Islam; indeed, it is the greatest of the pillars of Islam after the two testimonies. Whoever abandons it has committed disbelief, as the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah indicates. Also, your writing to her advising her to pray is a good thing on your part. If she persists in abandoning prayer, it is not permissible for you to keep her; rather, you must separate from her, because she is a disbeliever. Allah the Exalted said: "And do not hold on to the bonds of disbelief."
If she maintains the prayers and performs them, praise be to Allah. If she does not maintain them, she is not permissible for you. As for the word you said, "If you do not pray, I am disavowed of you until the Day of Resurrection," if you intended divorce by it, then it is a divorce; because this is one of the euphemisms.
One of the euphemisms of divorce is contingent upon intention. If your intention with this word was divorce, then she is divorced. If your intention was that you are disavowed of her actions and disavowed of her state, this is not considered a divorce. But as mentioned before, if she persists in abandoning prayer, you must divorce her and separate from her. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. If she prays once and leaves it once in prayer?
The Shaykh:
Likewise, the one who prays once and leaves it once is like the one who abandons it all.
The questioner:
Yes. What about the marriage contract, Shaykh Salih? If she repents, is he required to renew the marriage contract?
The Shaykh:
If she abandoned prayer intentionally, she is separated from him, meaning she is divorced. If she repents during the waiting period, she returns to him. If she does not repent until after the waiting period has ended, she is separated from him and is not permissible for him except with a new contract if she repents.
The presenter:
If it is delayed. May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
I ordered my wife to pray repeatedly, and when I am present at home, she prays, but when I am absent from the home, I strongly suspect that she does not pray without an excuse. When I left my country and traveled to another country, I sent her a message advising her to pray and emphasizing the necessity of maintaining it, and I said, "If you do not pray, I am disavowed of you until the Day of Resurrection." I spoke these words, but my heart did not believe them. We ask for your opinion on this matter. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
You did well in your concern for your wife’s prayer and in urging her to do so. This is what Allah has made obligatory upon you. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْIf she maintains the prayers and performs them, praise be to Allah. If she does not maintain them, she is not permissible for you. As for the word you said, "If you do not pray, I am disavowed of you until the Day of Resurrection," if you intended divorce by it, then it is a divorce; because this is one of the euphemisms.
One of the euphemisms of divorce is contingent upon intention. If your intention with this word was divorce, then she is divorced. If your intention was that you are disavowed of her actions and disavowed of her state, this is not considered a divorce. But as mentioned before, if she persists in abandoning prayer, you must divorce her and separate from her. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. If she prays once and leaves it once in prayer?
The Shaykh:
Likewise, the one who prays once and leaves it once is like the one who abandons it all.
The questioner:
Yes. What about the marriage contract, Shaykh Salih? If she repents, is he required to renew the marriage contract?
The Shaykh:
If she abandoned prayer intentionally, she is separated from him, meaning she is divorced. If she repents during the waiting period, she returns to him. If she does not repent until after the waiting period has ended, she is separated from him and is not permissible for him except with a new contract if she repents.
The presenter:
If it is delayed. May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، رجل أمر زوجته بالصلاة كثيرأً وعندما سافر بعث لها برساله يوصيها بالصلاة وقال إن لم تصلي فأنا بريء...؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.