A woman who did not pray for forty years and now wants to pray and perform Hajj: is it required of her to testify to the two declarations of faith because one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever?

Machine translationRead the Arabic original

The questioner : He says:The questioner : My mother did not pray for forty years, and now she wants to pray and perform Hajj. Is it required of her to testify to the two declarations of faith, because one who abandons prayer has committed disbelief?

The Shaykh : Her prayer is her repentance; that is, if she prays, she has repented and become a Muslim. So we ask Allah the Exalted to keep her firm on what she intends and to help her with it. And if she repents to Allah, turns to Him, and performs prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj, Allah will expiate her sins, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:

⁽⁶⁸⁾ And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. ⁽⁶⁹⁾ Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - ⁽⁷⁰⁾ Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.

وَالَّذِينَ لا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهاً آخَرَ وَلا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَلا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَاماً يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَاناً إِلاَّ مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَحِيماً

[Al-Furqan 25:68-70]

And He, Glorious and Majestic is He, said:

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِي الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعاً إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

[Az-Zumar 39:53]

And give her good news that if she is sincere in her repentance to Allah, she is on the right path, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us:

and another one acts in the way of the denizens of Hell, until there remains between him and Hell a distance of a cubit that the writing of destiny overcomes him and then he begins to act like the people of Paradise and enters Paradise.

أن الرجل يعمل بعمل أهل النار حتى ما يكون بينه وبينها إلا ذراع فيسبق عليه الكتاب فيعمل بعمل أهل الجنة فيدخلها

Sahih Muslim 2643a

Yes.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

Similar fatwas