I heard on your program, Light on the Path, that one should boycott the one who abandons prayer because he is a disbeliever, and since my cousin’s son does not pray, and since it came in
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The questioner : I heard on your excellent program, Light on the Path, that one should boycott the one who abandons prayer due to his disbelief, and since my cousin’s son does not pray, and since it came in the Noble Qur’an in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Mumtahanah 60:8] the verse, is it permissible for me to maintain ties with him and meet his needs, relying on this noble verse?
The Shaykh : The answer is that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness and negligence is a disbeliever, as indicated by the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the reports from the Companions, and correct reasoning. These are four pieces of evidence, all of which indicate the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer:
Among the evidence from the Qur’an is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, regarding the polytheists—rather, the saying of Allah the Exalted concerning the polytheists:[At-Tawbah 9:11] So Allah the Exalted made three conditions for their brotherhood in the religion of Allah to be established:
The first is repentance from shirk (associating partners with Allah), the second is establishing prayer, and the third is giving zakah (the obligatory alms). If they do not repent from shirk, they are polytheists and not our brothers. If they do not establish prayer, they are not our brothers either. If they do not give zakah, they are not our brothers either. However, we say: As for their not establishing prayer, their brotherhood with us in the religion of Allah is absolutely negated because they are disbelievers, as indicated by the texts of the Sunnah and the reports of the Companions. As for if they do not give zakah, they are not our brothers in complete, absolute brotherhood, because the Sunnah indicates that the one who withholds zakah does not become a disbeliever. So we follow the evidence where it points, distinguishing between what Allah and His Messenger distinguished, and uniting what Allah and His Messenger united.
As for the indication of the Sunnah regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, it is in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 82b and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) Both are authentic; the first is in Muslim and the second is in the Sunan. They are explicit that the one who abandons prayer is outside of Islam, because the boundary is a dividing line, and the line separates the two defined things such that they do not overlap. Therefore, they are explicit in the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer.
If someone were to say: Should not the two hadiths be interpreted to mean that the one who abandons prayer is the one who denies its obligation? We say: This is not correct for two reasons:
The first reason is that the one who denies the obligation of prayer is a disbeliever even if he prays; he becomes a disbeliever by his denial, not by his abandonment.
The second reason is that if we said that, we would invalidate the indication of the text and divert it from its apparent meaning to a meaning that contradicts the apparent meaning. And it would necessarily follow that if a man prays while denying the obligation, he is not a disbeliever, even though denial is disbelief in any case.
As for the reports from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), it was narrated from 'Umar and Ibn Mas'ud, and a dozen or so Companions. Indeed, 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq said:Mishkat al-Masabih 579 And Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted the consensus (ijma') on the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer from the time of the Companions to his own time (may Allah have mercy on him).
As for reasoning, it is because how can we say about a man who persists in abandoning prayer night and day and does not care about it, how can we say that there is faith in his heart? He knows the status of prayer in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to the extent that Allah the Exalted made it obligatory upon His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) without any intermediary, and He made it obligatory upon him while he was above the heavens, and He made it obligatory upon him as fifty prayers, were it not that Allah lightened it for His servants to five. All of this indicates the importance of prayer and its high status. And Allah knows best.
The questioner : Thank you, O Shaykh Muhammad, and may Allah magnify your reward.
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion
لا ينهاكم الله عن الذين لم يقاتلوكم في الدين ...The Shaykh : The answer is that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness and negligence is a disbeliever, as indicated by the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the reports from the Companions, and correct reasoning. These are four pieces of evidence, all of which indicate the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer:
Among the evidence from the Qur’an is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, regarding the polytheists—rather, the saying of Allah the Exalted concerning the polytheists:
But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, then they are your brothers in religion
فإن تابوا وأقاموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة فإخوانكم في الدينThe first is repentance from shirk (associating partners with Allah), the second is establishing prayer, and the third is giving zakah (the obligatory alms). If they do not repent from shirk, they are polytheists and not our brothers. If they do not establish prayer, they are not our brothers either. If they do not give zakah, they are not our brothers either. However, we say: As for their not establishing prayer, their brotherhood with us in the religion of Allah is absolutely negated because they are disbelievers, as indicated by the texts of the Sunnah and the reports of the Companions. As for if they do not give zakah, they are not our brothers in complete, absolute brotherhood, because the Sunnah indicates that the one who withholds zakah does not become a disbeliever. So we follow the evidence where it points, distinguishing between what Allah and His Messenger distinguished, and uniting what Allah and His Messenger united.
As for the indication of the Sunnah regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, it is in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Between man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salat.
بين الرجل وبين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاةThe covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; so whoever leaves it, he has committed Kufr.
العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة فمن تركها فقد كفرIf someone were to say: Should not the two hadiths be interpreted to mean that the one who abandons prayer is the one who denies its obligation? We say: This is not correct for two reasons:
The first reason is that the one who denies the obligation of prayer is a disbeliever even if he prays; he becomes a disbeliever by his denial, not by his abandonment.
The second reason is that if we said that, we would invalidate the indication of the text and divert it from its apparent meaning to a meaning that contradicts the apparent meaning. And it would necessarily follow that if a man prays while denying the obligation, he is not a disbeliever, even though denial is disbelief in any case.
As for the reports from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), it was narrated from 'Umar and Ibn Mas'ud, and a dozen or so Companions. Indeed, 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq said:
the companions of God’s Messenger did not consider the abandonment of any good deeds but prayer to be infidelity
كان أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرون شيئاً من الأعمال تركه كفر إلا الصلاةAs for reasoning, it is because how can we say about a man who persists in abandoning prayer night and day and does not care about it, how can we say that there is faith in his heart? He knows the status of prayer in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to the extent that Allah the Exalted made it obligatory upon His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) without any intermediary, and He made it obligatory upon him while he was above the heavens, and He made it obligatory upon him as fifty prayers, were it not that Allah lightened it for His servants to five. All of this indicates the importance of prayer and its high status. And Allah knows best.
The questioner : Thank you, O Shaykh Muhammad, and may Allah magnify your reward.