The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer Out of Laziness and the Warnings of Threat
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A person wrote a letter regarding the ruling on the one who abandons prayer, stating that the one who abandons it out of laziness is not declared a disbeliever. He answered the hadiths that declare the one who abandons prayer a disbeliever by saying they are hadiths of threat (wa'id) from which only a warning is taken, and that whoever holds to them has contradicted the methodology of the people of the Sunnah regarding the texts of threat. Is this statement correct?
Answer:
No, it is correct that there is scholarly disagreement on this issue. However, his claim that the hadiths are merely hadiths of threat is incorrect. The hadiths are clear, and those who say that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever are correct. Those who say that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness is a disbeliever are correct, and those who say he is not a disbeliever are mistaken, because they are contradicting the correct evidence. Yes. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A person wrote a letter regarding the ruling on the one who abandons prayer, stating that the one who abandons it out of laziness is not declared a disbeliever. He answered the hadiths that declare the one who abandons prayer a disbeliever by saying they are hadiths of threat (wa'id) from which only a warning is taken, and that whoever holds to them has contradicted the methodology of the people of the Sunnah regarding the texts of threat. Is this statement correct?
Answer:
No, it is correct that there is scholarly disagreement on this issue. However, his claim that the hadiths are merely hadiths of threat is incorrect. The hadiths are clear, and those who say that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever are correct. Those who say that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness is a disbeliever are correct, and those who say he is not a disbeliever are mistaken, because they are contradicting the correct evidence. Yes. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب ما جاء في الإقسام على الله إلى باب ما جاء في حماية النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - حمى التوحيد وسده طرق الشرك — islamhouse.com (1:06:23)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.