Clarification of the evidence that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness is a disbeliever.

The Shaykh : And this is the position of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), whether it is qualified or with conditions, which is that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness and negligence commits disbelief. This opinion is the stronger one because the evidence points to it in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the statements of the Companions, and correct reasoning. As for the Book, Allah the Exalted said regarding the polytheists: So Allah the Exalted made three conditions for brotherhood in religion: the first is repentance from what? From shirk (associating partners with Allah). If they do not repent, they are polytheists. The second is establishing prayer. If they do not establish prayer, they are not our brothers in religion. The third is giving zakah. If they do not give zakah, they are not our brothers in religion. They are not our brothers in religion. And based on this, the verse indicates that one is not a believer if he does not pray and does not give zakah, even if he repents from shirk. For if he were a believer, he would be our brother in religion, because religious brotherhood is not negated by sins, even if the sins are great. Even if the sins are great, they do not negate brotherhood in religion. Have you seen the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: Who is his brother? Here? The one who was killed is the brother of the killer, even though the killer committed a major sin, one of the greatest of major sins: killing a Muslim. So much so that Allah said regarding his punishment: And despite this, his brotherhood remains. And He said regarding the believers who fight each other: He said: And it is known that fighting a believer is among the greatest of sins, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And despite that, one does not exit the brotherhood of faith. There is no exit from the brotherhood of faith except by exiting the religion entirely. And if these three conditions are required for the establishment of religious brotherhood—repentance from shirk, secondly establishing prayer, and thirdly giving zakah—then this indicates that the one who does not establish prayer and does not give zakah is not a believer. Is that clear? It remains for us to say that the implication of our argument with this verse is that we should say that the one who abandons zakah is a disbeliever, is that not so?

The questioner : Yes

The Shaykh : Well, we say that some scholars committed to this, and it is a narration from Imam Ahmad that the one who abandons zakah out of stinginess and negligence is a disbeliever, a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. But this opinion is prevented by what is established in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the one to whom Allah has given wealth in gold and silver and he did not pay its zakah, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And this indicates what? That he is not a disbeliever, for if he were a disbeliever, he would not find a way to Paradise. And on this basis, the implication of the verse regarding zakah is not considered, by the evidence of this hadith. Well, as for the Sunnah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he said: And he said: between and between. The "between" requires distinguishing between two things. This is in one limit, and this is in a limit: between the man and shirk and disbelief. So this "between" is like a separating wall; it is not possible for faith to be with prayer forever. For the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says: between the man and shirk and disbelief, with the abandonment of prayer. I said: with prayer? With the abandonment of prayer, it is not possible for faith to be with the abandonment of prayer, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And this necessitates that there is a separating limit that does not allow one to enter the other forever. Then he said: With the article "al" indicating reality, and that this is true disbelief, not a lesser disbelief. And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah drew attention to this last meaning in his book "Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim". He did not say as some said... "disbelief," but rather he said: between the man and shirk and disbelief. And this indicates that the disbelief mentioned in that is true disbelief, which is the disbelief that takes one out of the religion. As for the statements of the Companions, the statements of the Companions are numerous. It is narrated from sixteen men, by name, that they declared the one who abandons prayer a disbeliever. Among them is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, who is from the trustworthy Tabi'un, transmitted from the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) generally the statement that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. And 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq said: The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider any of the deeds, if abandoned, to be disbelief except prayer. And this is a report of consensus. And for this reason, he reported the consensus of the Muslims on the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer. He reported it as Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, the famous Imam, and he said: The people have not, since the time of the Companions until this day, said that the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. And on this basis, the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus indicate this, if the consensus is valid. Otherwise, it is the statement of the majority of the Companions. Well, the fourth is the meaning and correct analogy, and the way it indicates the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer is that it is said: Every sane person who has the least atom of faith in his heart cannot maintain the abandonment of prayer while he knows its status and what Allah has prepared for those who establish it of reward, and what He has prepared for those who neglect it of punishment. The man knows that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, did not obligate the prayers upon His Prophet except while He was in the heavens, above the seven heavens, and He sent them to His Messenger directly without an intermediary, then He obligated them upon His servants fifty times a day and night. And these great cares for it require that a person not stand before Allah except while in a state of purity. There is no prayer, there is no worship, that requires purity by consensus except prayer. Also, it is necessary for a person to take adornment, it is necessary for him to direct his body toward the House of Allah and his heart toward Allah. Every person knows that, given the care for prayer, it is not possible to maintain its abandonment while having the least atom of faith in the heart, ever. And it is not conceivable that someone says: I am a believer, and I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and maintains the abandonment of prayer. But I mean, if he says it, he is a disbeliever. Because what does it mean that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah? If you testify that there is no god but Allah, why do you not worship Him with the greatest of worships? And how is it that there is no worshipped one but Allah and you do not worship Allah?! What is this contradiction? I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and you do not pray. And he said: "Pray as you have seen me praying." Where is the testimony? The testimony is not mere words with the tongue; it is necessary to apply the statement with action. And we are now in our forums and lives, between us, if a person comes to us with the most eloquent phrase and the clearest statement saying: I do this, and I say this, and I say this, and I say this, and then we look and he does not do it, do we believe him? We do not believe him. And for this reason, every person who knows the states of hearts and knows what the bodies command of obedience to Allah knows that the one who abandons prayer, given its greatness and status, does not have in his heart, ever, any exaltation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And it is not merely the statement of a person: "La ilaha illa Allah" that takes him out of disbelief if he has other actions that necessitate his disbelief. Here, he says: I testify that there is no god but Allah. And if he says that the Zuhr prayer is not obligatory, he becomes a disbeliever, even though he says: I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Why do we say he is a disbeliever in the other texts that came in other issues where texts came regarding them, we say he is a disbeliever while he says "La ilaha illa Allah," and we do not say he is a disbeliever if he abandons prayer while there is prayer indicating his disbelief? What is the difference between this and this? So, every one who reflects on the evidence of this correct opinion will find that it is the truth in which there is no argument. If someone says: Should we not interpret the texts of takfir (declaring someone a disbeliever) as applying to the one who abandoned it out of ignorance? We say: This statement of ignorance is a regrettable statement. How do we interpret it as such when you yourself do not say it? You yourself do not say it. For if a person prays all five prayers with their voluntary prayers and the absolute voluntary prayers, and he is a denier, is he a disbeliever or not a disbeliever? He is an abandoner? He did not abandon. The denial itself necessitates disbelief, whether you did it or not. And for this reason, when it was said to Imam Ahmad regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: When it was said to him that so-and-so says this regarding the one who makes permissible the killing of a Muslim, he said: Subhan Allah! He was amazed. The one who makes permissible the killing of a Muslim is in the Fire, whether he killed or did not kill. Look at this great jurisprudence. This is also like it: it says the one who denies the obligation of prayer is a disbeliever, whether he prayed or did not pray. Is that clear now? Then we say