I have a friend who does not pray or fast, and he is twenty years old. I love and respect him because he is a sincere colleague of mine, and I am consistent in my prayers, praise be to Allah.

The questioner : I have a friend who does not pray or fast, and he is twenty years old. I love and respect him because he is a sincere colleague of mine, and I am consistent in my prayers, praise be to Allah. What is the ruling on my companionship with him?

The Shaykh : I say: First, as long as he is your friend, he has a right over you that you should advise him and emphasize to him that he must pray, and warn him of the punishment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) if he does not pray. You should take him with you to the mosque and to gatherings of dhikr (the remembrance of Allah) and gatherings of faith with friends and close companions, so that perhaps Allah may guide him through your hand, in which case you would have given him the most important gift. If this desired outcome is achieved, then that is what is desired. If it is not achieved, I do not see that you should be his companion or walk with him, because the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever whose disbelief takes him out of the religion, and he is an apostate who must be given the opportunity to repent; if he repents, well and good, otherwise he is to be killed.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.