What is the ruling on one who abandons an obligatory act and continues to do so?
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The questioner : The questioner says: A person abandoned an obligatory act and continued to abandon it without an excuse. Is he considered a disbeliever? Please answer us, may you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : Which obligatory act did he abandon? An obligatory act of prayer? Yes.
The questioner : In prayer, in prayer.
The Shaykh : If he abandons an obligatory act from the five prayers and does not believe it is obligatory, he is a disbeliever. Even if he believes it is obligatory but does not pray, yes, even if he believes it is obligatory, even if he believes it is not obligatory but he prays, he is a disbeliever because he denies a matter agreed upon by the Muslims, established by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). As for if he abandons one obligatory act out of negligence, such as if he is negligent about the 'Asr prayer or the Fajr prayer, I do not consider him a disbeliever. However, some scholars hold that if he abandons one prayer out of negligence, he is a disbeliever. The matter is serious. Therefore, the one who abandons an obligatory act should fear Allah the Exalted and Majestic in himself and perform the obligatory acts and the five prayers. Praise be to Allah, they are few and at scattered times, so there is no hardship in them, except for the discouragement from Satan the accursed. We ask Allah for us and our Muslim brothers steadfastness in the command and resolve in righteousness.
The presenter : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh : Which obligatory act did he abandon? An obligatory act of prayer? Yes.
The questioner : In prayer, in prayer.
The Shaykh : If he abandons an obligatory act from the five prayers and does not believe it is obligatory, he is a disbeliever. Even if he believes it is obligatory but does not pray, yes, even if he believes it is obligatory, even if he believes it is not obligatory but he prays, he is a disbeliever because he denies a matter agreed upon by the Muslims, established by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). As for if he abandons one obligatory act out of negligence, such as if he is negligent about the 'Asr prayer or the Fajr prayer, I do not consider him a disbeliever. However, some scholars hold that if he abandons one prayer out of negligence, he is a disbeliever. The matter is serious. Therefore, the one who abandons an obligatory act should fear Allah the Exalted and Majestic in himself and perform the obligatory acts and the five prayers. Praise be to Allah, they are few and at scattered times, so there is no hardship in them, except for the discouragement from Satan the accursed. We ask Allah for us and our Muslim brothers steadfastness in the command and resolve in righteousness.
The presenter : O Allah, amen.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 262- ما حكم من ترك فرض من الفروض واستمر على ذلك /سؤال على الهاتف /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.