What is the ruling on giving zakah to one who is negligent in prayer and may sometimes leave it off (the ruling on the one who leaves off prayer)?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Another questioner asks about the ruling on giving zakah to one who is negligent in performing the prayer and may sometimes leave it off.

The Shaykh : As for this person who is negligent in zakah and in prayer, if you give him the zakah, he will not pray, but if you do not give it to him, he will pray. Do you understand the issue? This is a man who, if you give him the zakah, leaves off the prayer, but if you do not give him the zakah, he prays.
Do you give him the zakah? Answer. There is no god but Allah. How can you give it? A man who, if you give him the zakah, leaves off the prayer, does not pray, and goes out playing in the markets, buying this and selling that, and leaves off the prayer. But if you do not give him the zakah, poverty may be better for him, and he prays. So, do you give him the zakah? Hmm. Answer, everyone. No. So, if giving the zakah helps him to leave off the prayer, we say: do not give him the zakah. This is forbidden. But if giving the zakah helps him to pray, and he says, "Praise be to Allah, I have enough to sustain me, so go and pray, and I have no need to go to the markets," is he given it or not? He is given it. There remains a third category: if giving the zakah neither benefits him nor harms him, but he does not pray. We look at whether he never prays. If he never prays, then the zakah is not given to him. If he never prays, not at home and not in the mosque, then the zakah is not given to him. Why? Because he is a disbeliever who has committed apostasy. It is not permissible for him to remain on the face of the earth. Rather, he is given the opportunity to repent. If he prays, well and good; otherwise, he is killed as a disbeliever who has committed apostasy. This is because leaving off the prayer is disbelief, based on the evidence of the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the words of the Companions, and correct reasoning, meaning intellect.
- Pay attention, my son -.
The prayer is not a light matter. Which obligation did Allah impose directly upon the Messenger without any intermediary? The prayer.
Which obligation did not Allah the Exalted impose except that the Messenger was in the highest assembly? The prayer.
Which obligation did Allah impose upon His servants in a grand manner, and then He lightened the prayer?
So, nothing among the pillars equals it except the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
So we say: The Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the words of the Companions have indicated that the one who leaves off the prayer is a disbeliever with major disbelief that takes him out of the religion. There is no consideration for one who says otherwise, because the reference in case of dispute is to what? To the Book and the Sunnah.
The evidence from the Qur'an: Allah the Exalted said regarding the polytheists: meaning that if they do not do that, they are not our brothers in the religion.
And it is impossible for the brotherhood of faith to be absent while faith exists, even if a person commits the greatest of major sins, except for disbelief. In that case, he is our brother.
Have you seen if Muslims fight each other, and two individuals or two groups fight, does this fighting take them out of Islam? The evidence is His saying, the Exalted: - What are you extending... O Shaykh - up to His saying: . And He said regarding the one who kills intentionally, He said regarding the one who kills intentionally: and the one who was killed is . So He made him his brother, even though killing is among the greatest of major sins related to the rights of the created beings. So, the negation of the brotherhood of faith in the noble verse in Surat al-Tawbah indicates that the disbelief in leaving off the prayer is what kind of disbelief? Major disbelief that takes one out of the religion.
It is impossible for him to be our brother, and if he is not our brother, he is one who has parted from us in the religion. Good.
But this evidence, my brothers, is met with a question. If you say that, it follows from this that the one who does not pay zakah is also a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion. Is that not so? Is there no one to speak?
. How many descriptions necessitate brotherhood? Repentance from shirk, establishing the prayer, and giving zakah.
You say that if he does not repent from shirk, he is not our brother, and this is clear. If he does not establish the prayer, he is not our brother. So say: if he does not give zakah, he is not our brother. Otherwise, there is a contradiction in the argument.
We say: Yes, the verse indicates that the one who does not give zakah is not our brother in the religion and is a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion. Some scholars have said this, and among those who said it is Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). There is a narration from him that the one who leaves off zakah out of stinginess and negligence is a disbeliever like the one who leaves off the prayer. But as we said first, and as we say now, and as we will say, if Allah wills, in the future, the reference in dispute is to what? To the Book and the Sunnah. Good. The Sunnah has indicated that the one who does not pay zakah is not a disbeliever. So the Sunnah that indicated this excludes him from the verse. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in what was narrated by Abu Hurayrah from him, and it is in Sahih Muslim: . His saying: indicates that he is not a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion, because if he were a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion, he would have no way to Paradise.
So at that time, zakah is excluded from the noble verse by the requirement of this text, and the Sunnah restricts the Qur'an and specifies the Qur'an. As for the hadith, it is established in Sahih Muslim from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And separation necessitates a separation between the two things. And if that is the case, then the disbelief in the hadith is the disbelief that takes one out of the religion. Good.
Some scholars discussed this evidence and said: the one who leaves it off while denying its obligation, the one who leaves it off while denying its obligation.
So we say: Where did you get this from? Did the Messenger say "the one who leaves it off while denying its obligation"? And if this were his intention, he would have said "so whoever denies it," so as not to confuse the Ummah. And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) cannot confuse the Ummah, and his words cannot be anything but clear and distinct. So whoever interprets this hadith to mean that the intended meaning is leaving it off out of denial has taken the hadith out of its meaning in two ways:
The first way: The Messenger said "so whoever leaves it off," and this means "so whoever denies it," and he distinguished between leaving it off and denying it.
The second thing: He affirmed a meaning that the hadith does not indicate, and left the meaning that the hadith does indicate. This is distortion, for a person to affirm a meaning that the text does not indicate. Yes, to affirm a meaning that the text does not indicate and negate the meaning that the text indicated, this is complete distortion. But one who is interpreting is excused for his interpretation. But one to whom the matter becomes clear is not excused for following the interpreter.
Then we also say: What do you think, my brother, if a person prays the obligatory prayers completely, and contrary to the imam, every day, and says, "This prayer is voluntary and not obligatory"? Is he a disbeliever or not? Everyone. According to the Messenger's statement, he is not a disbeliever unless he leaves it off. If he said "the one who leaves it off while denying its obligation," he has made the ruling dependent on two descriptions: leaving it off and denying it.
So we say to him: If a person starts praying the prayers every day, behind the imam, and he hastens and increases in the voluntary prayers, but says, "The five prayers are not obligatory; I pray them as voluntary," do you see that he is a disbeliever? If he says he is a disbeliever, he contradicts himself, because the hadith says "so whoever leaves it off." And if he says he is not a disbeliever, he has invalidated his evidence and his statement, because he says that whoever denies its obligation is a disbeliever, even if he prays.
So it becomes clear that interpreting this hadith as leaving it off accompanied by denial does not hold up at all, neither from the side of the text nor from the side of the meaning.
And likewise, the people of the Sunan took from the hadith of Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Between us and whom? Between us and them, what? The prayer. And separation also necessitates distinctness, and that this one is a disbeliever and this one is a Muslim. So whoever leaves off the prayer, what kind of disbelief? Disbelief that results in separation between us and him, and that does not happen except with major disbelief that takes one out of the religion. Good. Yes. And likewise this verse. Good. .
The third evidence: The consensus of the Companions: They agreed that the one who leaves off the prayer is a disbeliever. This was transmitted by 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him) from the famous Tabi'un. He said: "The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider any of the deeds to be disbelief if left off, except the prayer". And Imam Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted their consensus on that. Even though some scholars mentioned a disagreement from some of the Companions that he is not a disbeliever, but at the least we say: Most of the Companions are of the opinion that he is a disbeliever.
How many evidences are there now? Three.
The fourth is reason and sound understanding: Can it be conceived that a person persists in abandoning prayer, given its importance and Allah’s concern for it, and remains a Muslim forever? Absolutely not. Where is the faith in his heart if he does not pray and persists in abandoning prayer? It cannot be conceived. It cannot be conceived except that there is no faith in his heart at all, or that he denies the obligation.
And thus, the evidence amounts to four: the Book, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions—we say the statements of the Companions without citing consensus, if disagreement is established from them—and the fourth is sound reasoning and intellect.
Then, does the ruling of disbelief or the negation of disbelief depend on us, our tastes, and our assumptions, or does it depend on the Book and the Sunnah? It depends on the Book and the Sunnah. Just as we do not forbid what Allah has made lawful, nor obligate what Allah has excused, so it is not permissible for us to deny disbelief of one whom Allah and His Messenger have declared a disbeliever, nor to affirm disbelief of one whom Allah and His Messenger have not declared a disbeliever. Creation are the servants of Allah. If in the law of Allah it is stated that one who abandons a certain thing is a disbeliever, why do we not say he is a disbeliever? Why do we fear declaring major takfir when the Book and the Sunnah indicate it? We do not fear it. If we say he is a disbeliever, he will pray. But if we say this is open sinfulness (fisq) and not disbelief, what will he remain in? Negligence and abandonment. But if we say you are now outside Islam, you are not among the Muslims in any way, he will be afraid and will pray. But if I say, “By Allah, this is one of the major sins, but he is a believer who will enter Paradise,” he will remain negligent. So why do we open the door to negligence for people when this door is closed by the Quran, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and sound reasoning?
We have said this before you now in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque. In fact, some people wear [clothes] and say, “This is not disbelief, this is open sinfulness (fisq), and this is unique to Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him),” and this is attributed to one who abandoned it while denying its obligation, and similar to the words said by those who came before. There is no doubt that scholars have differed, both in the past and the present. The issue is not new; it is from the old. But it is obligatory for us to say what Allah and His Messenger said, and not to fear, and not to consider the matter too great.
Is not the one who prostrates to one of these pillars, even if he is a worshipper, what is he? Even if he says that prostration is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and even if he says that prayer is obligatory and he prostrates, he is a disbeliever. So why do we fear saying to one who does not pray that he is a disbeliever?
Some people say, “If you say he is a disbeliever, many Muslims today are not Muslims.” I raised this doubt because many people do not pray. We say, but if we say he is a disbeliever, many of these people will return to what? To prayer. And this statement is like the statement of one who says, “If we cut off the hand of the thief, half the population becomes paralyzed.” What does paralyzed mean? It means having only one hand. If we say we cut off the thief’s hand, look at the speech, and refuge in Allah, they mix truth with falsehood. They say, “If we cut off the thief’s hand, half the people become paralyzed, having no hand.” We say, “Praise be to Allah, you have now admitted against yourself that half of your people are thieves, because you say if we cut off the thief’s hand, half the population becomes paralyzed. But we say to you, you have erred in your understanding. If we cut off the hand of the thief, thousands of thieves would stop stealing and not steal. Therefore, look at qisas (retaliation in kind). If a person kills someone intentionally, and then we kill the killer, does this mean we increased killing or not? O people, what is this answer? It is not good. If we kill the killer, does this increase the number of killed or not? No, rather in this is life. In this is life. Glory be to Allah. Qisas: we kill one, one plus one makes two, meaning we increased the killed. But the Lord of the Worlds says: Because if we kill this killer, how many will stop killing? Thousands of criminals who attempt to commit murder. Every person says, “If I kill, I will be killed,” so he will stop killing. Therefore, Allah the Exalted and Majestic said: Do you understand, O people?
So, if we say that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever, we have not wronged people, but we have done them good, because the one who does not pray will pray out of fear of falling out of the bond of Islam. Yes, we have spoken at length to you a little.
The student: Hadith: .

The Shaykh : Yes, it does not contradict. We answer it.
The brother questioner now says, in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit: and so on.
We say: This hadith, in some of its wordings and contexts: complete. We say, if he brings them complete, then that is it. But if he brings them incomplete, he does not become a disbeliever, because he brought them, but they are incomplete.
And we say: In summary, the evidence cited by those who deny the takfir of the one who abandons prayer, we answer with two answers: one general and one detailed.
As for the general, we say: All the hadiths they mentioned are either hadiths or evidence containing confusion, and the evidence for the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer is clear and evident. We have an important rule that students of knowledge must pay attention to and follow: “When texts come, some clear and evident and some ambiguous, what is obligatory? Abolishing the ambiguous and taking the ruling”. It is obligatory to do so because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: meaning, and as for those firmly grounded in knowledge, they take the clear. And thus, reason indicates this, because the ambiguous is ambiguous, susceptible to multiple interpretations, and the clear is clear and evident.
The evidence for the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer is clear and evident, as you have heard, and the other evidence is ambiguous, so it must be referred to the clear.
Second: The evidence cited is either that there is no evidence at all in it, or that it is restricted by a description with which abandoning prayer is not possible, such as the hadith of 'Utbah ibn Malik: . This hadith is restricted what? . And I ask you, is it possible for a person who says “La ilaha illa Allah” seeking thereby the Face of Allah to abandon prayer? It is not possible, O my brothers. We must be realistic. We say, if you seek the Face of Allah with this word, prayer is the greatest means by which a person reaches the Face of Allah. It is not possible for him to abandon it.
Or the evidence cited is first general, and it is specified by the hadiths of abandoning prayer. Specifying the general with the specific is a matter followed by all scholars. And I have traced this and explained it in a small treatise named what? The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer. So whoever wants to know more should refer to it. And Allah the Exalted knows that we did not intend anything but doing good to creation and not being negligent with prayer. We did not intend to take people out of their religion. No, by Allah, we are the most averse to hastening and rushing in ruling with takfir, because the ruling of takfir means transferring a person from one religion to another, or from a religion to nothing. And a believing person cannot rush to judge people as disbelievers without there being a firm, clear evidence. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. This is a questioner asking about swearing by the Quran.

The Shaykh : It is seven thirty and four minutes, and my appointment is at seven thirty.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Last question?

The questioner : Very well.

The Shaykh : Yes? What?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No, there is no harm. Yes.