Is it permissible to keep the company of one who abandons prayer?
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Q: A question from: F. A. - from Riyadh, he says: Is it permissible for a person to keep the company of another man who does not pray sometimes, or rather, most of the time?
A: It is not permissible for a Muslim to keep the company of such a person who abandons prayer at some times. Rather, it is obligatory for him to advise him and to disapprove of his bad deed. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he should boycott him, not take him as a companion, and hate him for the sake of Allah, until he repents from his reprehensible deed. This is because abandoning prayer is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) It was narrated by Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan with a sound chain, from Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him) , and Muslim narrated it in his Sahih, from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih Muslim 82b.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim to love for the sake of Allah, hate for the sake of Allah, be loyal for the sake of Allah, and be hostile for the sake of Allah, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Mumtahanah: 4].
And it is obligatory to refer such a person to the authorities - if he is in a country that rules by the Islamic Shari'ah - so that he is given the opportunity to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. This is because the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) for one who abandons prayer and does not repent is execution, as the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:5] the verse [At-Tawbah: 5]. So this noble verse indicates that one who abandons prayer and does not repent is not left alone, but is killed.
And the correct view is: that he is killed as a disbeliever; due to the two previous hadiths and others, and due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying:Sunan Abi Dawud 4928Sahih (Al-Albani).
So that indicates that one who does not pray is not prohibited from being killed, but rather it is obligatory to kill him if he does not repent; because of the deterrent effect this has against this great crime.
We ask Allah to rectify the conditions of the Muslims, and to grant us and them success in standing firm upon His religion. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near.
A: It is not permissible for a Muslim to keep the company of such a person who abandons prayer at some times. Rather, it is obligatory for him to advise him and to disapprove of his bad deed. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he should boycott him, not take him as a companion, and hate him for the sake of Allah, until he repents from his reprehensible deed. This is because abandoning prayer is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The 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 كفرBetween man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salat.
بين الرجل وبين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاةSo it is obligatory for every Muslim to love for the sake of Allah, hate for the sake of Allah, be loyal for the sake of Allah, and be hostile for the sake of Allah, as Allah the Exalted said:
There has already been for you an excellent pattern in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, "Indeed, we are disassociated from you and from whatever you worship other than Allah. We have denied you, and there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone
قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنْكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُAnd it is obligatory to refer such a person to the authorities - if he is in a country that rules by the Islamic Shari'ah - so that he is given the opportunity to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. This is because the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) for one who abandons prayer and does not repent is execution, as the Exalted said:
But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way
فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْAnd the correct view is: that he is killed as a disbeliever; due to the two previous hadiths and others, and due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying:
I have been prohibited from killing people who pray.
إني نهيت عن قتل المصلينSo that indicates that one who does not pray is not prohibited from being killed, but rather it is obligatory to kill him if he does not repent; because of the deterrent effect this has against this great crime.
We ask Allah to rectify the conditions of the Muslims, and to grant us and them success in standing firm upon His religion. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.