The Meaning of the Hadith: Whoever Abandons the 'Asr Prayer, His Deeds Are Nullified
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, there are many questions asking about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever abandons the 'Asr prayer, his deeds are nullified.” What is the intended meaning of this? Does it mean apostasy, or what is meant by it?
Answer:
Yes, if he delays it past its time intentionally, he becomes an apostate thereby. This applies even to prayers other than 'Asr; if he delays performing them past their time intentionally and deliberately, he becomes an apostate. He must repent to Allah. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan ad-Darimi 2:45 and he did not mention any excuses except forgetfulness or sleep. Intentional delay means his prayer does not suffice him; it does not suffice him that he prays it whenever he pleases. The prayer is invalid. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, there are many questions asking about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever abandons the 'Asr prayer, his deeds are nullified.” What is the intended meaning of this? Does it mean apostasy, or what is meant by it?
Answer:
Yes, if he delays it past its time intentionally, he becomes an apostate thereby. This applies even to prayers other than 'Asr; if he delays performing them past their time intentionally and deliberately, he becomes an apostate. He must repent to Allah. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
whoever forgets his prayer or sleeps through it, let him pray it when he remembers it
من نسي صلاه او نام عنها فليصلها اذا ذكرها
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من باب أول وقت العصر وآخره في الاختيار والضرورة — islamhouse.com (55:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.