The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
One of them wrote a book on the ruling regarding the one who abandons prayer, stating that he is not a disbeliever. Among the evidence he cited to support his position was his statement: "We have no legal evidence that a believer alone exits Islam by doing something that has not been clarified to us as being a denial of even some of what Allah has prescribed." Is this statement the position of the people of the Sunnah? Or does it belong to one of the four schools of thought regarding faith that you mentioned?
Answer:
We do not declare anyone a disbeliever except with evidence. We do not declare a Muslim a disbeliever except with evidence. The evidence has indicated that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. So, spare yourself the trouble, my brother. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. The evidence has indicated that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. So why do you tire yourself out? Are you going to refute the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Between the servant and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of prayer."
And he said:Mishkat al-Masabih 574 Who is between us and them? The disbelievers. Between us and the disbelievers is the abandonment of prayer. Whoever abandons it becomes one of them, and thus he has committed disbelief. This is more explicit than this: Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Al-Qiyamah 75:31-32] He paired the abandonment of prayer with the denial of the truth, with the denial of the truth, but he denied and turned away. This means abandoning prayer.
And He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[Al-Muddaththir 74:42] meaning the Fire. [Al-Muddaththir 74:43] Their first answer was: [Al-Muddaththir 74:44-46] So he linked abandoning the prayer with denying the Day of Judgment, and whoever denies the Day of Judgment is a disbeliever. And He said: "But of no avail will be the intercession of the intercessors." And at the forefront of them are those who do not pray, which indicates that they are disbelievers; because the intercession of the intercessors benefits the believer. It is only the disbelievers for whom the intercession of the intercessors is of no avail. Yes, so the seeker of the truth is convinced by the first piece of evidence, but the one who wants to argue, dispute, and defend the people of falsehood, there is no remedy for him.
One of them wrote a book on the ruling regarding the one who abandons prayer, stating that he is not a disbeliever. Among the evidence he cited to support his position was his statement: "We have no legal evidence that a believer alone exits Islam by doing something that has not been clarified to us as being a denial of even some of what Allah has prescribed." Is this statement the position of the people of the Sunnah? Or does it belong to one of the four schools of thought regarding faith that you mentioned?
Answer:
We do not declare anyone a disbeliever except with evidence. We do not declare a Muslim a disbeliever except with evidence. The evidence has indicated that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. So, spare yourself the trouble, my brother. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. The evidence has indicated that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. So why do you tire yourself out? Are you going to refute the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Between the servant and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of prayer."
And he said:
as saying, “The covenant between us and them is prayer, so if anyone abandons it he has become an infidel.”
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْعَهْدُ الَّذِي بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ الصَّلَاةُ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا فَقَدْ كَفَرَ(31) And the disbeliever had not believed, nor had he prayed. (32) But [instead], he denied and turned away.
فَلَا صَدَّقَ وَلَا صَلَّىٰ وَلَٰكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰAnd He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
[And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?"
مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَThey will say, "We were not of those who prayed,
قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ(44) Nor did we used to feed the poor. (45) And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it], (46) And we used to deny the Day of Recompense
وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينَ وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Source
تارك الصلاة — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.