My relatives do not pray, and we advise them, but they do not respond. I sit with them, knowing that I cannot go anywhere except with them. What should I do?
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The questioner : We have people in the village who do not pray, and we command them to pray, but they do not do so. The problem is that they are my relatives; they are my maternal uncles, and I sit with them and talk to them. What am I required to do, given that I cannot go anywhere because they are with me at all times? What do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
This question requires me to do two things:
The first thing is to give advice to these people whom the questioner mentioned do not pray. If they do not pray at all, neither in their homes nor in the mosques, they are disbelievers who have committed apostasy and have gone out of the religion of Islam, as indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions. We have spoken about this repeatedly and written a small treatise on it, and others have written on it as well, clarifying the evidence. Indeed, the evidence from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions is clear, so we refer the reader to what we have written on this topic.
We clarify that anyone who opposes this view is opposing it with something that has no evidence. The most that can be said in this regard is a single statement: that the general texts stating that one who says, "There is no god but Allah," will not abide in the Fire are general, and they are specified by the texts indicating the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer. This is if we accept the validity of the evidence and the validity of the argument. We say: This is a general statement, and the texts regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions—some of the Imams have reported their consensus on the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer—specify this generality. Thus, the weakness of every argument used by the opponent in this issue becomes apparent.
So I advise these people whom the questioner spoke about. I say: Fear Allah regarding yourselves, and fear Allah regarding your families, because if they see you not praying, they will not pray. Fear Allah regarding your village, and fear Allah regarding the Muslims in general, because Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Anfal 8:25].
If the Muslim community abandons its prayer, what remains for it? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) described prayer as the pillar of Islam, and the pillar of a building cannot stand without it. Then, what harm does it suffer from prayer?
Its duration is short compared to the twenty-four hours, and it contains activity and purification of the body, turning to Allah Mighty and Majestic, humility and soundness of the heart, and rectification of deeds:[Al-'Ankabut 29:45].
And along with the reward in the Hereafter, Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Al-Ma'arij 70:19-22] So the one who prays does not become despondent when evil touches him; rather, he says: This is from the divine decree and destiny of Allah, and praise be to Allah in all circumstances.
And the one who prays, when good touches him, he gives it away and benefits the servants of Allah with it, and his benefit to the servants of Allah is truly a benefit to himself. So Allah made an exception for the ones who pray:[Al-Ma'arij 70:22-23] Then He mentioned their characteristics, and then He said at the end of that: So He began with prayer and ended with it.
The occasion does not allow me to speak about the effects of prayer on the heart, the face, the direction, and the deeds, because they are many. So let them fear Allah regarding themselves, and let them force themselves to do what is good. Let them force themselves to pray and practice it for a week. I am confident that if they are turning to Allah by performing prayer in this week, they will find a new life, pleasure in worship, and intimacy with Allah Mighty and Majestic. So let them fear their Lord, Allah.
Then, if they are performing prayer in their homes, this is undoubtedly good, but they have missed the great reward in abandoning prayer in congregation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) informed that:Sahih Muslim 650a.
And these people, in my opinion, if it were said to them that you would profit in this commodity one out of ten, not twenty-seven out of one, one out of ten, they would endure hardships and travel far to obtain this gain. How much more so for the gain of the Hereafter, which is better and more lasting?
Then, if they miss prayer in congregation, they are imitating the hypocrites, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Bulugh al-Maram 2:306.
Then, if they abandon the congregation, they are exposing themselves to punishment, because the stronger position among the views of the scholars regarding prayer in congregation is that it is obligatory, and it is not permissible to be absent from it except for an excuse. This is my advice to these people whom the questioner spoke about.
As for the answer to his question, I say: If these relatives of his do not pray at all, and he has given them advice after advice, but they did not comply, then it is obligatory for him to boycott them and stay away from them. He should not greet them, nor respond to their invitations, nor invite them to his home. Let him be patient with this, for Allah the Exalted will make for him a relief and an exit.
But along with this, meaning along with boycotting them, he should not despair. He should call them and advise them, either in person or by correspondence. Perhaps, with much advice, they will be guided to what is in the well-being of their religion and their worldly affairs.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
This question requires me to do two things:
The first thing is to give advice to these people whom the questioner mentioned do not pray. If they do not pray at all, neither in their homes nor in the mosques, they are disbelievers who have committed apostasy and have gone out of the religion of Islam, as indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions. We have spoken about this repeatedly and written a small treatise on it, and others have written on it as well, clarifying the evidence. Indeed, the evidence from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions is clear, so we refer the reader to what we have written on this topic.
We clarify that anyone who opposes this view is opposing it with something that has no evidence. The most that can be said in this regard is a single statement: that the general texts stating that one who says, "There is no god but Allah," will not abide in the Fire are general, and they are specified by the texts indicating the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer. This is if we accept the validity of the evidence and the validity of the argument. We say: This is a general statement, and the texts regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions—some of the Imams have reported their consensus on the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer—specify this generality. Thus, the weakness of every argument used by the opponent in this issue becomes apparent.
So I advise these people whom the questioner spoke about. I say: Fear Allah regarding yourselves, and fear Allah regarding your families, because if they see you not praying, they will not pray. Fear Allah regarding your village, and fear Allah regarding the Muslims in general, because Allah the Exalted says:
And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know that Allah is severe in penalty.
وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِIf the Muslim community abandons its prayer, what remains for it? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) described prayer as the pillar of Islam, and the pillar of a building cannot stand without it. Then, what harm does it suffer from prayer?
Its duration is short compared to the twenty-four hours, and it contains activity and purification of the body, turning to Allah Mighty and Majestic, humility and soundness of the heart, and rectification of deeds:
Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing
إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِAnd along with the reward in the Hereafter, Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
(19) Indeed, mankind was created anxious: (20) When evil touches him, impatient, (21) And when good touches him, withholding [of it], (22) Except the observers of prayer -
إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا * إِذَا مَسَّهُ الشَّرُّ جَزُوعًا * وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ الْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا * إِلَّا الْمُصَلِّينَAnd the one who prays, when good touches him, he gives it away and benefits the servants of Allah with it, and his benefit to the servants of Allah is truly a benefit to himself. So Allah made an exception for the ones who pray:
(22) Except the observers of prayer - (23) Those who are constant in their prayer
إِلَّا الْمُصَلِّينَ * الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلاتِهِمْ دَائِمُونَAnd those who are constant in their prayers
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَThe occasion does not allow me to speak about the effects of prayer on the heart, the face, the direction, and the deeds, because they are many. So let them fear Allah regarding themselves, and let them force themselves to do what is good. Let them force themselves to pray and practice it for a week. I am confident that if they are turning to Allah by performing prayer in this week, they will find a new life, pleasure in worship, and intimacy with Allah Mighty and Majestic. So let them fear their Lord, Allah.
Then, if they are performing prayer in their homes, this is undoubtedly good, but they have missed the great reward in abandoning prayer in congregation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) informed that:
Prayer said in a congregation is twenty-seven degrees more excellent than prayer said by a single person.
صلاة الجماعة أفضل من صلاة الفذ بسبع وعشرين درجةAnd these people, in my opinion, if it were said to them that you would profit in this commodity one out of ten, not twenty-seven out of one, one out of ten, they would endure hardships and travel far to obtain this gain. How much more so for the gain of the Hereafter, which is better and more lasting?
Then, if they miss prayer in congregation, they are imitating the hypocrites, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
The most burdensome prayers for hypocrites are the 'Isha' and the Fajr prayers and if they knew what (rewards) these (prayers) contain, they would have come to them (in the mosques), even though they had to crawl on their knees.
أثقل الصلاة على المنافقين صلاة العشاء والفجر، ولو يعلمون ما فيهما لأتوهما ولو حبواThen, if they abandon the congregation, they are exposing themselves to punishment, because the stronger position among the views of the scholars regarding prayer in congregation is that it is obligatory, and it is not permissible to be absent from it except for an excuse. This is my advice to these people whom the questioner spoke about.
As for the answer to his question, I say: If these relatives of his do not pray at all, and he has given them advice after advice, but they did not comply, then it is obligatory for him to boycott them and stay away from them. He should not greet them, nor respond to their invitations, nor invite them to his home. Let him be patient with this, for Allah the Exalted will make for him a relief and an exit.
But along with this, meaning along with boycotting them, he should not despair. He should call them and advise them, either in person or by correspondence. Perhaps, with much advice, they will be guided to what is in the well-being of their religion and their worldly affairs.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.