Warning Against Neglecting the Prayer
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Q: What do you say about neglecting the prayer?
A: The matter of prayer is immense, and in Ramadan it is even more severe and greater; for it is the pillar of Islam and the greatest of its pillars after the two testimonies. Whoever guards it guards his religion, and whoever neglects it is even more neglectful of what is besides it. Allah the Exalted said: [al-Baqarah: 238] And He the Exalted said: [al-Baqarah: 43] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [al-Bayyinah: 5] And He the Sublime said: [al-'Ankabut: 45] And the verses regarding the matter of prayer, its exaltation, and the urging to it are very numerous.
And it is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2616Hasan (Darussalam) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2609Sahih (Darussalam) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 82b.
And the hadiths on this matter are numerous, and all of them indicate that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, even if he does not deny its obligation. And this is the correct position in this issue; due to the establishment of the evidence for it.
As for one who denies its obligation, he commits disbelief by the consensus of the scholars, even if he prays; for he is a liar against Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And whoever abandons it, his fasting is not valid, nor his Hajj, nor any of his other acts of worship; for major shirk (associating partners with Allah) nullifies all deeds, as He the Sublime said: [al-Ma'idah: 5] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [al-An'am: 88] And the verses in this meaning are numerous.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to guard the five prayers in their times, to advise one another to do so, and to beware of abandoning them, or being negligent with them, or abandoning some of them. And it is obligatory for the man to guard them in congregation, in the houses of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with his Muslim brothers; for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Bulugh al-Maram 2:308 It was said to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): What is the excuse? He said: (Fear or illness).
And in Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a blind man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, so do I have a dispensation to pray in my house? He said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): He said: Yes. He said: And this great hadith indicates the greatness of the status of prayer in congregation for men, and the obligation to guard it, and not to be lenient in that. Many people are lenient regarding the Fajr prayer, and this is dangerous and a great evil, and it resembles the hypocrites.
So it is obligatory to beware of that, and to hasten to the prayer in its time, and its performance in congregation for the man is like the rest of the five prayers. And Allah the Exalted said: [al-Nisa': 142] And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 797Sahih (Darussalam) Agreed upon as authentic.
And Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the prayer one day among his Companions and said:Mishkat al-Masabih 578 And this is a great warning for whoever does not preserve the prayer.
Some of the scholars of knowledge said in explaining this hadith: The one who neglects the prayer will be gathered with Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, and Abu ibn Khalf; because if he neglects it for the sake of leadership, kingship, and authority, he resembles Pharaoh who transgressed and rebelled due to the causes of his position; so he will be gathered with him into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. And if he neglects it due to the causes of the position and ministry, he resembles Haman, the minister of Pharaoh, who transgressed and rebelled due to the leadership; so he will be gathered with him into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, and his position will not benefit him nor protect him from the Fire. And if he neglects it due to the causes of wealth and desires, he resembles Qarun - the merchant of the Children of Israel - about whom Allah said:[Al-Qasas 28:76] the verse [al-Qasas: 76] So he was occupied with his wealth and his desires, and he disobeyed Musa and was arrogant about following him, so Allah caused the earth to swallow him and his home, and he is rolling in the earth until the Day of Resurrection as an immediate punishment along with the punishment of the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. And the fourth: the one who neglects it due to the causes of trade, buying and selling, taking and giving, so he is occupied with transactions and looking at the ledgers, and what is owed by so-and-so? and what is owed by so-and-so? until he neglects the prayers. So this one has resembled Abu ibn Khalf - the merchant of the people of Makkah - from the disbelievers; so he will be gathered with him into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. And Abu ibn Khalf was killed as a disbeliever on the day of Uhud, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) killed him with his noble hand, (peace and blessings be upon him). And this warning indicates without doubt the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer, even if he does not deny its obligation. So we ask Allah for us and for all Muslims to be saved from resembling His enemies.
A: The matter of prayer is immense, and in Ramadan it is even more severe and greater; for it is the pillar of Islam and the greatest of its pillars after the two testimonies. Whoever guards it guards his religion, and whoever neglects it is even more neglectful of what is besides it. Allah the Exalted said:
Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلاةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَAnd establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَAnd they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِRecite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing
اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِAnd it is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
The head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the Salat, and its hump is Jihad
رأس الأمر الإسلام، وعموده الصلاة، وذروة سنامه الجهاد في سبيل اللهIslam is based upon five: the testimony of La Ilaha Illallah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the Salat, giving the Zakat, fasting (the month of) Ramadan, and performing Hajj to the House.
بني الإسلام على خمس: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسول الله، وإقام الصلاة، وإيتاء الزكاة، وصوم رمضان، وحج البيتThe 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 الصلاةAnd the hadiths on this matter are numerous, and all of them indicate that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, even if he does not deny its obligation. And this is the correct position in this issue; due to the establishment of the evidence for it.
As for one who denies its obligation, he commits disbelief by the consensus of the scholars, even if he prays; for he is a liar against Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And whoever abandons it, his fasting is not valid, nor his Hajj, nor any of his other acts of worship; for major shirk (associating partners with Allah) nullifies all deeds, as He the Sublime said:
And whoever denies the faith - his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.
وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَBut if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَSo it is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to guard the five prayers in their times, to advise one another to do so, and to beware of abandoning them, or being negligent with them, or abandoning some of them. And it is obligatory for the man to guard them in congregation, in the houses of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with his Muslim brothers; for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever hears the call for prayer and and does not come (to the mosque for prayer), his prayer will not be accepted from him, unless he has a (legitimate) excuse.
من سمع النداء فلم يأت فلا صلاة له إلا من عذرAnd in Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a blind man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, so do I have a dispensation to pray in my house? He said to him (peace and blessings be upon him):
Do you hear the call to prayer?
هل تسمع النداء للصلاة؟Then respond.
فأجبSo it is obligatory to beware of that, and to hasten to the prayer in its time, and its performance in congregation for the man is like the rest of the five prayers. And Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little,
إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَهُوَ خَادِعُهُمْ وَإِذَا قَامُوا إِلَى الصَّلاةِ قَامُوا كُسَالَى يُرَاءُونَ النَّاسَ وَلا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ إِلا قَلِيلًاThe most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the 'Isha' prayer and the Fajr prayer. If only they knew what (reward) there is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.
أثقل الصلاة على المنافقين: صلاة العشاء، وصلاة الفجر، ولو يعلمون ما فيهما لأتوهما ولو حبواAnd Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the prayer one day among his Companions and said:
If anyone keeps to it, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the day of resurrection; but if anyone does not keep to it, it will not be for him light, evidence, or salvation, and on the day of resurrection he will be associated with Qarun, Pharaoh, Haman, 1 and Ubayy b. Khalaf
من حافظ عليها كانت له نورًا وبرهانًا ونجاة يوم القيامة، ومن لم يحافظ عليها لم يكن له نور ولا برهان ولا نجاة، وحشر يوم القيامة مع فرعون وهامان وقارون وأبي بن خلفSome of the scholars of knowledge said in explaining this hadith: The one who neglects the prayer will be gathered with Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, and Abu ibn Khalf; because if he neglects it for the sake of leadership, kingship, and authority, he resembles Pharaoh who transgressed and rebelled due to the causes of his position; so he will be gathered with him into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. And if he neglects it due to the causes of the position and ministry, he resembles Haman, the minister of Pharaoh, who transgressed and rebelled due to the leadership; so he will be gathered with him into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, and his position will not benefit him nor protect him from the Fire. And if he neglects it due to the causes of wealth and desires, he resembles Qarun - the merchant of the Children of Israel - about whom Allah said:
Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them
إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.