The ruling on the one who abandons the prayer entirely or part of it
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Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh, after the salam and Allah’s mercy and blessings, we are young men who have disagreed on a matter regarding the prayer. What is the ruling on the one who abandons the prayer entirely? Is he one who will remain in the Fire forever? And what is the ruling on the one who prays once, then abandons it once, and prays once again? Is this considered one of the disbelievers, and one of those who will remain in the Fire forever? We ask you to please answer.
Answer:
The answer to this was given today and yesterday. Whoever abandons the prayer has committed disbelief. Whether he abandons it entirely or part of it, this is the correct opinion among the scholars. Even if he does not deny its obligation, Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Muddaththir 74:42-43] They mentioned first that they were not among those who prayed. And the noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
So if a man, and the known disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is major disbelief and major shirk, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2616Hasan (Darussalam), and whoever neglects the pillar of religion has no religion. If he abandons it entirely, his disbelief is more apparent. If he prays at times and leaves it off at other times, he is a disbeliever. This is the correct view.
As for the one who denies its obligation and says, “It is not obligatory,” he is a disbeliever according to everyone. Whoever denies its obligation, even if he prays, is a disbeliever according to all scholars. If he says it is not obligatory, he is a disbeliever according to all scholars, even if he prays. As for the one who says, “Yes, it is obligatory, but I am lazy about it,” this is the one about whom there is disagreement. The correct position is that he commits disbelief by this, even if he does not deny the obligation, even if he acknowledges the obligation. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said the ruling regarding its abandonment. What does it have to do with denying the obligation? If the man who is between disbelief and shirk abandons the prayer, and he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 594 And he said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) This is clear regarding his being declared a disbeliever, even if he does not deny the obligation. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good,
Your Eminence the Shaykh, after the salam and Allah’s mercy and blessings, we are young men who have disagreed on a matter regarding the prayer. What is the ruling on the one who abandons the prayer entirely? Is he one who will remain in the Fire forever? And what is the ruling on the one who prays once, then abandons it once, and prays once again? Is this considered one of the disbelievers, and one of those who will remain in the Fire forever? We ask you to please answer.
Answer:
The answer to this was given today and yesterday. Whoever abandons the prayer has committed disbelief. Whether he abandons it entirely or part of it, this is the correct opinion among the scholars. Even if he does not deny its obligation, Allah the Exalted said:
(42) [And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?" (43) They will say, "We were not of those who prayed,
مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَSo if a man
Between disbelief and shirk is the abandonment of the prayer
بين الكفر والشرك ترك الصلاةThe covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; so whoever leaves it, he has committed Kufr.
العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة، فمن تركها فقد كفرThe head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the Salat
رأس الأمر الإسلام وعموده الصلاةAs for the one who denies its obligation and says, “It is not obligatory,” he is a disbeliever according to everyone. Whoever denies its obligation, even if he prays, is a disbeliever according to all scholars. If he says it is not obligatory, he is a disbeliever according to all scholars, even if he prays. As for the one who says, “Yes, it is obligatory, but I am lazy about it,” this is the one about whom there is disagreement. The correct position is that he commits disbelief by this, even if he does not deny the obligation, even if he acknowledges the obligation. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said the ruling regarding its abandonment. What does it have to do with denying the obligation? If the man who is between disbelief and shirk abandons the prayer, and he said:
Whoever leaves the `Asr prayer will have all his (good) deeds annulled.
من ترك صلاة العصر حبط عملهThe covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; so whoever leaves it, he has committed Kufr.
العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة فمن تركها فقد كفرThe presenter:
May Allah reward you with good,
Source
فتاوى المسجد الحرام (شعبان ١٤١٧ هـ) - ٢ — archive.org (39:46)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.