Leaving the congregational prayer without an excuse
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The fourth question of Fatwa No. ( 1591 )
Q4: How do we rule on one who prays at home without an excuse? Is he a disbeliever? And if the answer is no, what is the basis for the report that says: A man who fasts by day and stands in prayer by night but does not attend the Friday prayer or the congregation, so one of the Companions said: He is in the Fire?
A4: One who prays the five obligatory prayers, or one of them, in his home without an excuse is not a disbeliever, but he has sinned by leaving an obligatory duty, which is praying with the congregation in the mosque; for Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:102] the verse. So He commanded congregational prayer in the most critical times and those most filled with fear. This necessitates that the first group complete half of their last prayer and say the taslim before the imam, and this does not happen unless the obligatory prayer with the imam is obligatory, indeed more obligatory and emphasized than following the imam in
the prayer and arranging the ma'mum's prayer with his imam's prayer, so he does not match him in its actions nor precede him in any of them. And for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Bulugh al-Maram 2:308 narrated by Ibn Majah and al-Daraqutni , and Ibn Hibban , and al-Hakim , and its chain is according to the conditions of Muslim . And it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 644 and
al-Bukhari also narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 657 . And whoever does not attend the Friday prayer or the congregation deserves that Allah put him in the Fire; for leaving an obligation from the obligations of Islam, which is performing the five prayers in congregation, and attending the Friday prayer. Then, if he is one who denies the prescription of the congregation or the obligation of attending the Friday prayer for one in whom the conditions of its obligation are met—he is a disbeliever who will remain in the Fire forever. And if he believes in it—but he left the action out of laziness—he will be punished in the Fire according to the measure of his crime, unless Allah wills to forgive him. And whenever he is punished for his absence from the Friday prayer or the congregation without denying their obligation, his end is Paradise; for His saying the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:48] regarding the hadiths narrated about those who commit major sins that are less than shirk, for they are explicit in that the one who commits
major sins will be punished for them in the Fire if Allah wills that, then he will come out of it and enter Paradise. As for the report mentioned by the questioner, it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with the wording: A questioner asked him about a man who fasts by day and stands in prayer by night but does not attend the Friday prayer or the congregation, so he said: He is in the Fire. And this report, if it is authentic, its meaning is what we mentioned. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q4: How do we rule on one who prays at home without an excuse? Is he a disbeliever? And if the answer is no, what is the basis for the report that says: A man who fasts by day and stands in prayer by night but does not attend the Friday prayer or the congregation, so one of the Companions said: He is in the Fire?
A4: One who prays the five obligatory prayers, or one of them, in his home without an excuse is not a disbeliever, but he has sinned by leaving an obligatory duty, which is praying with the congregation in the mosque; for Allah the Exalted said:
And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, let a group of them stand [in prayer] with you and let them carry their arms. And when they have prostrated, let them be [in position] behind you and have the other group come forward which has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you, taking precaution and carrying their arms. Those who disbelieve wish that you would neglect your weapons and your baggage so they could come down upon you in one [single] attack
وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاَةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَيْلَةً وَاحِدَةًthe prayer and arranging the ma'mum's prayer with his imam's prayer, so he does not match him in its actions nor precede him in any of them. And for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever hears the call for prayer and and does not come (to the mosque for prayer), his prayer will not be accepted from him, unless he has a (legitimate) excuse.
من سمع النداء فلم يأت فلا صلاة له إلا من عذرThat a blind man said: O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, so do I have a dispensation to pray in my house? So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do you hear the call to prayer? He said: Yes. He said: Then respond.
أن رجلاً أعمى قال: يا رسول الله: ليس لي قائد يقودني إلى المسجد فهل لي من رخصة أن أصلي في بيتي؟ فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: هل تسمع النداء بالصلاة؟ قال: نعم قال: فأجبI was about to order for collecting firewood (fuel) and then order Someone to pronounce the Adhan for the prayer and then order someone to lead the prayer then I would go from behind and burn the houses of men who did not present themselves for the (compulsory congregational) prayer. By Him, in Whose Hands my soul is, if anyone of them had known that he would get a bone covered with good meat or two (small) pieces of meat present in between two ribs, he would have turned up for the `Isha' prayer.
لقد هممت أن آمر بحطب فيحتطب، ثم آمر بالصلاة فيؤذن لها ثم آمر رجلاً فيصلي بالناس ثم أخالف إلى رجال فأحرق عليهم بيوتهم، والذي نفسي بيده لو يعلم أحدهم أنه يجد عرقًا سمينًا أو مرماتين سمينتين لشهد العشاءal-Bukhari also narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
No prayer is heavier upon the hypocrites than the Fajr and the `Isha' prayers and if they knew what is in them (in reward), they would have attended them, even if (it was) crawling. Certainly, I felt the urge to order the Mu'adh-dhin (call-maker) so that he would pronounce Iqama, then order a man to lead the people (in prayer), then take a flame of fire so that I burn (the houses) upon those who had not left for the prayer yet.
ليس صلاة أثقل على المنافقين من الفجر والعشاء ولو يعلمون ما فيهما لأتوهما ولو حبوًا، لقد هممت آمر المؤذن فيقيم ثم آمر رجلاً يؤم الناس ثم آخذ شعلاً من نار فأحرق على من لا يخرج إلى الصلاة بعدIndeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُmajor sins will be punished for them in the Fire if Allah wills that, then he will come out of it and enter Paradise. As for the report mentioned by the questioner, it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with the wording: A questioner asked him about a man who fasts by day and stands in prayer by night but does not attend the Friday prayer or the congregation, so he said: He is in the Fire. And this report, if it is authentic, its meaning is what we mentioned. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.