A brother of mine used to pray sometimes and leave ten, and sometimes he would not pray for a month. Then he died in an accident, so we prayed for him and we seek forgiveness for him. Is this permissible?
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The questioner : He says:The questioner : A brother of mine used to pray sometimes and leave dozens, and sometimes months would pass without him praying. If he was advised, he would pray and then leave it off. Then Allah willed that he was involved in a traffic accident and died in it. We prayed for him, and now we are seeking mercy for him. Is this permissible? And is he considered a Muslim? He was close to twenty years old. We found Islamic tapes in his car that he used to listen to, and he used to visit graveyards.
The Shaykh : Yes. First: we ask, what was his final state? Was he praying? If that is the case, then this is a mercy from Allah upon him, and the conclusion of his life with prayer is considered repentance.
As for if his final state was leaving off prayer, then whoever dies leaving off prayer has died in disbelief. It is not permissible to pray for him, nor to ask for mercy or forgiveness for him. So we must verify this matter: was his final state prayer, or was his final state leaving off prayer? If we are in doubt, we say: "O Allah, if so-and-so died upon Islam, then forgive him and have mercy on him." That is, the issue is conditioned: "O Allah, if so-and-so died upon Islam, then forgive him and have mercy on him." This conditioning has a basis. Conditioning supplication with a condition that has a basis is indicated by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, regarding the one who accuses his wife of zina:[An-Nur 24:6-7] Here [An-Nur 24:7] This is a condition where he invoked a curse upon himself on the condition that he be among the liars. [An-Nur 24:8-9] This is the one who died and we do not know whether he died upon Islam or upon disbelief. We may say: "O Allah, forgive him if he died upon Islam." Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned about his Shaykh, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: "That he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a dream and asked him—meaning the Shaykh al-Islam asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about difficult issues that troubled him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered him, including when he said: 'O Messenger of Allah, funerals of innovators and others are brought to us, and we do not know who is the Muslim and who is not the Muslim.' So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: 'Stick to the condition, O Ahmad.'" Ahmad is the name of Ibn Taymiyyah. Stick to the condition. And what does "stick to the condition" mean? That you say: "O Allah, if he was a believer, then forgive him and have mercy on him."
The Shaykh : Yes. First: we ask, what was his final state? Was he praying? If that is the case, then this is a mercy from Allah upon him, and the conclusion of his life with prayer is considered repentance.
As for if his final state was leaving off prayer, then whoever dies leaving off prayer has died in disbelief. It is not permissible to pray for him, nor to ask for mercy or forgiveness for him. So we must verify this matter: was his final state prayer, or was his final state leaving off prayer? If we are in doubt, we say: "O Allah, if so-and-so died upon Islam, then forgive him and have mercy on him." That is, the issue is conditioned: "O Allah, if so-and-so died upon Islam, then forgive him and have mercy on him." This conditioning has a basis. Conditioning supplication with a condition that has a basis is indicated by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, regarding the one who accuses his wife of zina: