A resident worker in the Kingdom whose sponsor does not perform the obligatory prayers, while the worker is committed to his prayer and fasting; is it permissible for him to eat with him?
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The questioner : His Eminence the Shaykh says: I am a worker, and my sponsor does not perform the obligatory prayer. As for me, praise be to Allah, I am committed to my prayer and fasting, and this is a favor from Allah upon me. Is it permissible for me to eat with him? And what is your opinion regarding the salary I receive from him? Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Before we issue a ruling for this questioner, we offer advice to his sponsor.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Since this questioner claims that he does not pray, if that is the case, then we say to this sponsor: Fear Allah in yourself. Thank Allah for His blessing in making you capable and bestowing this favor upon you. Thank Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for this blessing, and fulfill the duty of gratitude to Allah, Lord of the worlds. For disobedience to the Bestower of blessings is bad and ugly in reason, in innate disposition, and in the Shari'ah.
We say to this one who does not pray: Fear Allah and pray, for the prayer is of great significance, its reward is abundant, and abandoning it is a grave danger. The most correct of the opinions of the scholars is that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. For Allah the Exalted said in His Book regarding the polytheists:[At-Tawbah 9:11] This indicates that if they do not establish the prayer, they are not our brothers in the religion of Allah. And brotherhood in the religion does not cease except when faith ceases and the person becomes a disbeliever. For the believer, even if his faith is weak, as long as he has not reached the level of disbelief, is our brother, and we love him for the faith he possesses, even though we dislike the sins he commits. And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the one who abandons the prayer: Sahih Muslim 82b Narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him). And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam).
Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, the well-known Tabi'i, transmitted the consensus of the Companions on the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, when he said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider any of the deeds to be disbelief if abandoned, except the prayer." And some of the scholars also transmitted their consensus on the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, among them, meaning among those who transmitted the consensus, is Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, the famous Imam.
And reason demands this, meaning it demands that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever. The point is that every believer who believes in the great status of the prayer with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and with His Messenger and with the believers, cannot abandon it and persist in its abandonment. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, elevated the status of these prayers; He made them obligatory upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) without any intermediary, and He made them obligatory upon him in the highest place that humans reach, and He made them obligatory upon him in the best night for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). For Allah made them obligatory upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of the Mi'raj when He raised him to the seven heavens. This indicates Allah's love for them and His care for them. And among the indications of His care for them is that He first made them obligatory as fifty prayers, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased with that and found peace in it. But He, Glorified and Exalted is He, lightened the burden for His servants by making them five in practice and fifty in the scale.
So reason, along with the previous evidence, demands that the one who abandons the prayer absolutely, never praying, is a disbeliever, a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. It is known that if this sponsor were addressed by a person saying: "O disbeliever!" he would never be pleased with that, and there would be a dispute between him and the one who called him by this description, which might reach the level of a trial before the judges. If he is not pleased to be labeled a disbeliever by ordinary people and the general public, how can he be pleased for himself to be subject to the label the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him, when he said:Sahih Muslim 82b.
So it is obligatory upon this sponsor, and upon others who are negligent regarding the prayer, to fear Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in themselves, and to perform the prayer sincerely for Allah and in following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Let them try, for if they pray once, twice, and three times, they will find pleasure in the prayer, and the prayer will be a coolness of their eyes and they will feel at ease with it. But if Satan takes possession of them and makes them forget the remembrance of Allah and makes them forget the prayer, they will find it heavy, may Allah protect us from that, and they will persist in what they are doing of abandoning it, which leads to disbelief.
As for the worker and his remaining with this sponsor, there is no blame on him for remaining with him. But it is obligatory upon him to always advise him and not to consider himself too low to offer advice. Perhaps the worker says: "I am a worker, how can I advise my sponsor? He is higher in status and greater in prestige in the eyes of people than I am. How can I advise him?" We say: There is no blame in advising him, even if you are lower in status in the eyes of people. For if you advise him for the sake of Allah, you become greater in status with Allah than he is. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Also, His Eminence the Shaykh, the sons of this country...
The Shaykh : Yes, let me finish.
The questioner : Please, go ahead.
The Shaykh : Some people hold that the one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever, and they interpret the texts regarding his declaration as disbeliever to mean that it refers to the one who denies its obligation and abandons it out of denial of its obligation. The truth is that this is a distortion of the words from their proper places. For if the texts regarding abandonment are interpreted as denial, they have been interpreted contrary to what the apparent meaning of the wording requires. Thus, they have wronged them in two ways. The first way is that they diverted them from their apparent meaning. The second way is that they invented for them a meaning that is not intended by them. Then we say: The one who denies the obligation of the prayer, if he has lived among Muslims, is a disbeliever, whether he prays or does not pray. Even if it is assumed that he persists in his prayer but says that it is a voluntary prayer and not obligatory, he is a disbeliever. Some people who hold this view cited evidence, but I traced these evidences and examined them, and I found that they do not fall outside of five categories. Either there is no indication in them at all, or they are restricted by a description under which abandoning the prayer is impossible, or they are singular and weak and do not constitute a proof, or they are regarding people who are excused due to ignorance, where Islam has been lost among them and they know nothing about it, or they are general and are specified by the evidences of the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, as it is known among the scholars that if a general text and a specific text are present, the general is specified by the specific.
Then, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows that we did not adopt this view in order to be strict with the servants of Allah and to take the servants of Allah out of Islam. But we adopted this view because we see that it is what the speech of our Lord and the speech of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates. And we know that declaring someone a disbeliever, declaring someone an open sinner, declaring someone an innovator, declaring someone misguided, guiding, and stating about Islam or faith, all of this does not return to us, but it returns to Allah and His Messenger. The one who has the judgment and in whose hand is the dominion of all things is Allah. So if He judges that a person is a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever, and we say he is a disbeliever and we do not care. And if He judges that a person is a Muslim, he is a Muslim, and we say: he is a Muslim and we do not care. And so on.
Just as making things lawful and forbidden and making things obligatory all belong to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so describing someone with Islam, faith, disbelief, and disobedience all belongs to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And if we come, or if we say what the evidence requires, we are excused, rather we are thanked for it and rewarded for it. And we do not want to be strict with people or to take them out of their religion except with a proof that becomes clear to us. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, guides whom He wills to a straight path.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Before we issue a ruling for this questioner, we offer advice to his sponsor.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Since this questioner claims that he does not pray, if that is the case, then we say to this sponsor: Fear Allah in yourself. Thank Allah for His blessing in making you capable and bestowing this favor upon you. Thank Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for this blessing, and fulfill the duty of gratitude to Allah, Lord of the worlds. For disobedience to the Bestower of blessings is bad and ugly in reason, in innate disposition, and in the Shari'ah.
We say to this one who does not pray: Fear Allah and pray, for the prayer is of great significance, its reward is abundant, and abandoning it is a grave danger. The most correct of the opinions of the scholars is that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. For Allah the Exalted said in His Book regarding the polytheists:
But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, then they are your brothers in religion
فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَءاتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِBetween 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 كفرAbdullah ibn Shaqiq, the well-known Tabi'i, transmitted the consensus of the Companions on the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, when he said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider any of the deeds to be disbelief if abandoned, except the prayer." And some of the scholars also transmitted their consensus on the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, among them, meaning among those who transmitted the consensus, is Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, the famous Imam.
And reason demands this, meaning it demands that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever. The point is that every believer who believes in the great status of the prayer with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and with His Messenger and with the believers, cannot abandon it and persist in its abandonment. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, elevated the status of these prayers; He made them obligatory upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) without any intermediary, and He made them obligatory upon him in the highest place that humans reach, and He made them obligatory upon him in the best night for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). For Allah made them obligatory upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of the Mi'raj when He raised him to the seven heavens. This indicates Allah's love for them and His care for them. And among the indications of His care for them is that He first made them obligatory as fifty prayers, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased with that and found peace in it. But He, Glorified and Exalted is He, lightened the burden for His servants by making them five in practice and fifty in the scale.
So reason, along with the previous evidence, demands that the one who abandons the prayer absolutely, never praying, is a disbeliever, a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. It is known that if this sponsor were addressed by a person saying: "O disbeliever!" he would never be pleased with that, and there would be a dispute between him and the one who called him by this description, which might reach the level of a trial before the judges. If he is not pleased to be labeled a disbeliever by ordinary people and the general public, how can he be pleased for himself to be subject to the label the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him, when he said:
Between man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salat.
بين الرجل وبين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاةSo it is obligatory upon this sponsor, and upon others who are negligent regarding the prayer, to fear Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in themselves, and to perform the prayer sincerely for Allah and in following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Let them try, for if they pray once, twice, and three times, they will find pleasure in the prayer, and the prayer will be a coolness of their eyes and they will feel at ease with it. But if Satan takes possession of them and makes them forget the remembrance of Allah and makes them forget the prayer, they will find it heavy, may Allah protect us from that, and they will persist in what they are doing of abandoning it, which leads to disbelief.
As for the worker and his remaining with this sponsor, there is no blame on him for remaining with him. But it is obligatory upon him to always advise him and not to consider himself too low to offer advice. Perhaps the worker says: "I am a worker, how can I advise my sponsor? He is higher in status and greater in prestige in the eyes of people than I am. How can I advise him?" We say: There is no blame in advising him, even if you are lower in status in the eyes of people. For if you advise him for the sake of Allah, you become greater in status with Allah than he is. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Also, His Eminence the Shaykh, the sons of this country...
The Shaykh : Yes, let me finish.
The questioner : Please, go ahead.
The Shaykh : Some people hold that the one who abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever, and they interpret the texts regarding his declaration as disbeliever to mean that it refers to the one who denies its obligation and abandons it out of denial of its obligation. The truth is that this is a distortion of the words from their proper places. For if the texts regarding abandonment are interpreted as denial, they have been interpreted contrary to what the apparent meaning of the wording requires. Thus, they have wronged them in two ways. The first way is that they diverted them from their apparent meaning. The second way is that they invented for them a meaning that is not intended by them. Then we say: The one who denies the obligation of the prayer, if he has lived among Muslims, is a disbeliever, whether he prays or does not pray. Even if it is assumed that he persists in his prayer but says that it is a voluntary prayer and not obligatory, he is a disbeliever. Some people who hold this view cited evidence, but I traced these evidences and examined them, and I found that they do not fall outside of five categories. Either there is no indication in them at all, or they are restricted by a description under which abandoning the prayer is impossible, or they are singular and weak and do not constitute a proof, or they are regarding people who are excused due to ignorance, where Islam has been lost among them and they know nothing about it, or they are general and are specified by the evidences of the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, as it is known among the scholars that if a general text and a specific text are present, the general is specified by the specific.
Then, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows that we did not adopt this view in order to be strict with the servants of Allah and to take the servants of Allah out of Islam. But we adopted this view because we see that it is what the speech of our Lord and the speech of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates. And we know that declaring someone a disbeliever, declaring someone an open sinner, declaring someone an innovator, declaring someone misguided, guiding, and stating about Islam or faith, all of this does not return to us, but it returns to Allah and His Messenger. The one who has the judgment and in whose hand is the dominion of all things is Allah. So if He judges that a person is a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever, and we say he is a disbeliever and we do not care. And if He judges that a person is a Muslim, he is a Muslim, and we say: he is a Muslim and we do not care. And so on.
Just as making things lawful and forbidden and making things obligatory all belong to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so describing someone with Islam, faith, disbelief, and disobedience all belongs to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And if we come, or if we say what the evidence requires, we are excused, rather we are thanked for it and rewarded for it. And we do not want to be strict with people or to take them out of their religion except with a proof that becomes clear to us. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, guides whom He wills to a straight path.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.