Is it permissible to visit an uncle who has cut off family ties and is undutiful to his parents, given that they have passed away and disavowed him, even though he is financially well-off yet did not attend to visit his parents or their funeral?

The questioner : The questioner says: Is it permissible to visit an uncle who has cut off family ties and is undutiful to his parents, given that his parents have passed away and disavowed him, even though this uncle is financially well-off yet did not visit his parents or attend their funeral? Is visiting him lawful or forbidden? Please note that he does not pray, has not performed the obligatory Hajj, and is currently ill and unable to travel back and forth. Should I visit him?

The Shaykh : If he does not pray, this is one of the major sins, because abandoning the prayer is apostasy from Islam and disbelief in Allah, which is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion, as indicated by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said regarding the polytheists: Thus, Allah the Exalted set three conditions for brotherhood in religion: the first condition is that they repent from shirk; the second condition is that they establish the prayer; and the third condition is that they pay zakah, meaning they give it to those who are entitled to it. If any of these conditions is lacking, brotherhood in religion is not realized. However, brotherhood in religion is not negated merely by sins, no matter how great, as long as they do not amount to disbelief. The evidence for this is that fighting a believer is among the greatest of sins, to the extent that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called it disbelief, saying: And yet, this great sin does not expel a person from faith, nor does it negate faith-based brotherhood, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: Thus, Allah the Exalted clarified in this verse that the two fighting groups are brothers to the group that reconciles between them, which is evidence that faith-based brotherhood is not negated by sins, but is only negated by disbelief. If someone were to say, "If you say that, then say that the one who withholds zakah is a disbeliever?" The answer is that we say: some scholars have said so, meaning that the one who withholds zakah is a disbeliever, and this is a narration from Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). However, what prevents us from saying that is what is established in the authentic hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: His saying: indicates that he did not declare the one who withholds zakah a disbeliever, and this prevents us from declaring the one who abandons zakah a disbeliever. As for the prayer, the Sunnah contains what confirms that the one who abandons it is a disbeliever, in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) as narrated from Jabir from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And in the Sunan, from the hadith of Buraydah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is supported by the fact that it is the opinion of the majority of the Companions, and some of them even reported it as the consensus of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), meaning that the one who abandons the prayer out of laziness and negligence is a disbeliever. When the texts indicate a ruling regarding disbelief or open sinfulness, obligation or prohibition, it is obligatory for us to adopt that and say it, because the matter is not up to us, nor to our tastes, nor to our opinions, but the matter belongs to Allah and His Messenger. This is a point of disagreement among scholars, and Allah the Exalted said: And He said: If we refer this matter to Allah and His Messenger, meaning to the Book of Allah or to His Messenger during his lifetime or to his Sunnah after his passing, we find that the Book and the Sunnah indicate that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, with major disbelief that expels one from the religion, so the one who abandons it is an apostate, may Allah protect us from that. And the argument used by those who do not consider the one who abandons the prayer a disbeliever is not a valid argument, because what they argued with either has no indication at all of what they claimed, or it is weak, or it is general and has been specified by the evidence of the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, or it is restricted in a way that makes abandoning the prayer impossible. This is clear to anyone who reflects on it. And so, if this sick man is undutiful to his parents, abandons what Allah has made obligatory upon him, and abandons the prayer, then he is a disbeliever and has no right to family ties. But if you see that it is in the interest to visit him in his illness and present repentance to him, and you see that he is close, meaning close to acceptance, then visit him and present repentance to him. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a Jew in his illness and found him, I think, in the context of death, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) presented Islam to him. He looked at his father as if seeking his advice, so his father said to him: "Obey Abu al-Qasim." So he obeyed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and embraced Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out saying: .

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, esteemed Shaykh, for this blessed guidance.