Is there a hadith that says whoever dies while leaving off prayer, it is not upon him to die a Jew or a Christian, and what is its authenticity?

Another questioner : May Allah bless you. Regarding the authenticity of the athar, in the athar it says, "Whoever leaves off prayer, or dies while leaving off prayer, it is not upon him except that he dies a Jew or a Christian."

The Shaykh : No, this is not about prayer; this is about Hajj.

The questioner : We heard that it is about prayer from some of the brothers. Does that fall under, I mean, sin?

The Shaykh : No, it is not regarding prayer. This is an athar from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it was narrated as marfu' to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, but it is not authentic as marfu'. It only came as mawquf upon 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. Now, what do you want from it?

The questioner : The question says, if the athar is authentic, I mean regarding prayer, I said this, if it is authentic...

The Shaykh : Do not distinguish between prayer and Hajj; do not distinguish between them. We do not distinguish whether this athar is about prayer or about Hajj, and you also do not distinguish whether it is about prayer or about Hajj, because the result is one: Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam, and prayer is one of the pillars of Islam. So whoever neglects one of the pillars of Islam is on the brink of the pit of the Fire.

The questioner : We seek help from Allah.

The Shaykh : But there is a difference between one who denies the legitimacy, in which case he is an innovator, a disbeliever, eternally in the Fire, and one who acknowledges the legitimacy, but the world distracted him, and Shaytan incited him, and so on.

The questioner : I mean, Shaykh, do we understand from that that it is the denial of the ruling or of the obligation that Allah has made obligatory upon him?

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.

The questioner : Denial or not denial.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

Another questioner : The texts, I mean, that came regarding prayer are very severe; they were about burning and... Also, the texts of takfir, I mean, and , or as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : General texts, I mean, no specific determination came regarding this disbelief, this means...

Another questioner : Is it practical disbelief or...

The Shaykh : My brother, this is the talk of the scholars who declare one who leaves off prayer a disbeliever. But we see that it is not permissible to take a ruling in a specific issue from a group of hadiths when there are other hadiths. I give you an example before me of the issue: if you hear his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , what do you say about the Muslim who fights his Muslim brother? Do you say about him that he is a disbeliever or not?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Now, do you say he is eternally in the Fire?

The questioner : Allah knows best.

The Shaykh : Now, whoever leaves off prayer has disbelieved, disbelieved in the truth of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Do you say he is eternally in the Fire? Say, "Allah knows best." As for me, I say "Allah knows best" in everything, but it is not permissible for a Muslim to say "Allah knows best" about something that Allah has informed him of, because in this case he denies the favor of Allah upon him. Our Lord said to the Messenger: Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) know something before the revelation? No, but what Allah willed, our Lord gave him of knowledge what He did not give to anyone of the worlds. So if he is asked about something that Allah informed him of, does he say "Allah knows best"?

The questioner : He says, "I know."

The Shaykh : Yes, and if he is asked about something that was not revealed to him, he says, "I do not know," until he asks Jibril. And the question of some people to him about the best of places and the worst of places is the best example in what we are discussing: Jibril came down and said to him: So now we have given an example: is greater than this. His sermon (peace and blessings be upon him), because I want to follow you through the hadith until I reach you regarding prayer. How it is that hadiths come with very severe warning about a matter, yet they do not mean the disbelief that keeps its owner in the Fire eternally. And therefore, I was very pleased with you when you said: "Allah knows best," because you truly do not know. But I, by the grace of Allah, do not say "Allah knows best" here. I say, without anything, "Allah knows best," and that is sufficient for us. There are many things we do not know, and we say "Allah knows best."