The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer
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It is well known that one who abandons the prayer is not prayed over when he dies.For example: I informed an imam who intended to pray over one who abandons the prayer. Is this backbiting?
One who abandons the prayer is not prayed over when he dies; because he is a disbeliever and an apostate in the religion of Islam—and may Allah protect us from that—by the indication of the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the words of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). In fact, it is reported that the Companions reached a consensus that he is a disbeliever and an apostate who has exited the religion of Islam.
And if that is the case, then it is not permissible to pray over him;because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tawbah: 84] So if one is brought to the imam about whom you have learned with certainty that he did not pray until he died, it is obligatory for you to inform the imam, and this is not backbiting, but rather it is advice; because by informing him, you are warning him against an evil, since praying over him is forbidden. And in this case, if you inform him, the imam must pause and say: I do not pray over one who does not pray.
But the dispute remains between his family and the imam, for example; because his family might deny that he does not pray,Perhaps they say: saying that he does pray,So he says: If you believe that he prays, then you go and pray over him, and your account is with Allah. As for me, it has been reported to me by someone I trust, or I know his condition, that he does not pray, so I do not pray over him.And a funeral was brought to me and they were saying: saying that he does not pray,So when it was brought and I asked, they said: This is so-and-so,I said: I do not pray over him.So his family said: He used to pray and would not abandon the prayer at all, so I stepped forward and prayed over him.
And there is no blame on the imam if he sees in the funeral something that necessitates that he not pray over it; there is no blame on him to step back. One better than us did this: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it when a man was brought to him and he asked: (Does he have a debt?They said: Yes, two dinars, and he had no means to pay it.So he said: Pray over your companion—and he stepped back—until he saw that in the faces of the people,So Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) stepped forward and said: O Messenger of Allah! The two dinars are on me) When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was assured from Abu Qatadah that he was committed to paying them, he stepped forward and prayed over him. So he had turned away and refused to pray over him; because he found in him something that necessitated that he not pray over him. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to not pray over one who had a debt with no means to pay it before Allah opened for him, because the prayer of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is intercession, and intercession does not benefit in debt; because it is necessary that the right of the owner of the right be fulfilled.
Therefore: Informing the imam of this is advice and not exposing someone to disgrace. In fact, it is obligatory for one who knows his condition to clarify it. But there are hadiths that some people assume indicate that one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever, and we will summarize the statement regarding them—Meaning: in refuting the argument from them that one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever—So we say: The verses, hadiths, and statements of the Companions regarding the disbelief of one who abandons the prayer are clear texts and decisive evidence with no ambiguity. And the other texts that those who do not consider one who abandons the prayer a disbeliever have argued with do not fall outside of these categories: First: that there is no contradiction in them at all,Like the saying of some: Indeed, Allah says: [An-Nisa: 48] And it includes in His saying: (what is less than that) abandoning the prayer,So we say: Indeed, abandoning the prayer is not less than shirk, but it is from shirk.By the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): (Between the man and shirk and disbelief is abandoning the prayer) .
And some argued with the hadith of 'Utbah ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): (Indeed, Allah has forbidden the Fire for the one who says La ilaha illa Allah seeking thereby the Face of Allah) It is said: There is no evidence in this either,Because His saying: (seeking thereby the Face of Allah) prevents one from abandoning the prayer, so anyone who seeks the Face of Allah cannot abandon the prayer ever.Meaning: A man who persists in abandoning the prayer while seeking the Face of Allah, by what path does he reach Allah if he abandons the prayer?!! So: There is no evidence in it.
And some argued with the hadith of intercession: (That he will come out of the Fire who has never done any good) It is said: This is general; the Messenger did not say: who does not pray.
And the texts regarding the disbelief of abandoning the prayer are specific,And the principle of usul al-fiqh says: (The specific overrides the general) As for if it came in a hadith that he came out and he had not prayed a prayer for Allah, then this would be clear. And the other texts must be understood as not causing a disbelief that exits from the religion,But he says: He did not do any good, and (good) is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it is general, and the general is specified by the specific.
And some argued with the hadith of the man with the card which al-Tirmidhi narrated: (That he is brought with a card in it La ilaha illa Allah and it outweighs the sins) They said: There is no mention of prayer in it,It is said: And there is no mention of prayer in it, neither affirming nor denying, so this hadith remains general and is specified by the prayer.
And there are weak hadiths they argued with, and weak hadiths do not oppose authentic hadiths, so they are not a contradiction; because they are not established, so they do not constitute opposition.
In summary: That the stronger position, by which we profess our faith in Allah and upon which we rely on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), is that one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever with a disbelief that exits from the religion, and that he is in a worse state than the Jews and the Christians; because the Jews and the Christians are allowed to remain on their religion according to what the Shari'ah requires with the jizyah, whereas this one is not allowed to remain on his religion,This is said: Either you pray or we will kill you. It is not possible for you to remain on the earth while you do not pray.
This is the obligation, so we ask Allah to guide us and you to the straight path.
One who abandons the prayer is not prayed over when he dies; because he is a disbeliever and an apostate in the religion of Islam—and may Allah protect us from that—by the indication of the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the words of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). In fact, it is reported that the Companions reached a consensus that he is a disbeliever and an apostate who has exited the religion of Islam.
And if that is the case, then it is not permissible to pray over him;because of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And do not pray [the funeral prayer, O Muhammad], over any of them who has died - ever - or stand at his grave. Indeed, they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and died while they were defiantly disobedient.
وَلا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَداً وَلا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَBut the dispute remains between his family and the imam, for example; because his family might deny that he does not pray,Perhaps they say: saying that he does pray,So he says: If you believe that he prays, then you go and pray over him, and your account is with Allah. As for me, it has been reported to me by someone I trust, or I know his condition, that he does not pray, so I do not pray over him.And a funeral was brought to me and they were saying: saying that he does not pray,So when it was brought and I asked, they said: This is so-and-so,I said: I do not pray over him.So his family said: He used to pray and would not abandon the prayer at all, so I stepped forward and prayed over him.
And there is no blame on the imam if he sees in the funeral something that necessitates that he not pray over it; there is no blame on him to step back. One better than us did this: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it when a man was brought to him and he asked: (Does he have a debt?They said: Yes, two dinars, and he had no means to pay it.So he said: Pray over your companion—and he stepped back—until he saw that in the faces of the people,So Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) stepped forward and said: O Messenger of Allah! The two dinars are on me) When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was assured from Abu Qatadah that he was committed to paying them, he stepped forward and prayed over him. So he had turned away and refused to pray over him; because he found in him something that necessitated that he not pray over him. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to not pray over one who had a debt with no means to pay it before Allah opened for him, because the prayer of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is intercession, and intercession does not benefit in debt; because it is necessary that the right of the owner of the right be fulfilled.
Therefore: Informing the imam of this is advice and not exposing someone to disgrace. In fact, it is obligatory for one who knows his condition to clarify it. But there are hadiths that some people assume indicate that one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever, and we will summarize the statement regarding them—Meaning: in refuting the argument from them that one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever—So we say: The verses, hadiths, and statements of the Companions regarding the disbelief of one who abandons the prayer are clear texts and decisive evidence with no ambiguity. And the other texts that those who do not consider one who abandons the prayer a disbeliever have argued with do not fall outside of these categories: First: that there is no contradiction in them at all,Like the saying of some: Indeed, Allah says:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُAnd some argued with the hadith of 'Utbah ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): (Indeed, Allah has forbidden the Fire for the one who says La ilaha illa Allah seeking thereby the Face of Allah) It is said: There is no evidence in this either,Because His saying: (seeking thereby the Face of Allah) prevents one from abandoning the prayer, so anyone who seeks the Face of Allah cannot abandon the prayer ever.Meaning: A man who persists in abandoning the prayer while seeking the Face of Allah, by what path does he reach Allah if he abandons the prayer?!! So: There is no evidence in it.
And some argued with the hadith of intercession: (That he will come out of the Fire who has never done any good) It is said: This is general; the Messenger did not say: who does not pray.
And the texts regarding the disbelief of abandoning the prayer are specific,And the principle of usul al-fiqh says: (The specific overrides the general) As for if it came in a hadith that he came out and he had not prayed a prayer for Allah, then this would be clear. And the other texts must be understood as not causing a disbelief that exits from the religion,But he says: He did not do any good, and (good) is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it is general, and the general is specified by the specific.
And some argued with the hadith of the man with the card which al-Tirmidhi narrated: (That he is brought with a card in it La ilaha illa Allah and it outweighs the sins) They said: There is no mention of prayer in it,It is said: And there is no mention of prayer in it, neither affirming nor denying, so this hadith remains general and is specified by the prayer.
And there are weak hadiths they argued with, and weak hadiths do not oppose authentic hadiths, so they are not a contradiction; because they are not established, so they do not constitute opposition.
In summary: That the stronger position, by which we profess our faith in Allah and upon which we rely on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), is that one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever with a disbelief that exits from the religion, and that he is in a worse state than the Jews and the Christians; because the Jews and the Christians are allowed to remain on their religion according to what the Shari'ah requires with the jizyah, whereas this one is not allowed to remain on his religion,This is said: Either you pray or we will kill you. It is not possible for you to remain on the earth while you do not pray.
This is the obligation, so we ask Allah to guide us and you to the straight path.