Is the fasting and worship of one who does not pray accepted?
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Q: There are those who fast and perform some acts of worship but do not pray. Is their fasting and worship accepted?
A: In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah.
The correct view is that one who deliberately abandons prayer commits major disbelief (shirk) by doing so, and consequently his fasting and other acts of worship are not valid until he repents to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He); based on the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) : [Al-An'am: 88] and the verses and hadiths that convey its meaning.
A group of scholars held that one does not commit major disbelief (shirk) by doing so, and his fasting and worship are not invalidated if he acknowledges the obligation, but he abandoned prayer out of negligence and laziness.
The correct view is the first one, which is that one commits major disbelief (shirk) by abandoning it if he does so deliberately, even if he acknowledges the obligation; due to many pieces of evidence, among which is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 82b narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, from the hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) narrated by Imam Ahmad and the people of the four Sunan collections with a sound chain, from the hadith of Buraydah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) .
The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) elaborated on this in an independent treatise on the rulings of prayer and its abandonment, which is a beneficial treatise that is good to refer to and benefit from.
A: In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah.
The correct view is that one who deliberately abandons prayer commits major disbelief (shirk) by doing so, and consequently his fasting and other acts of worship are not valid until he repents to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He); based on the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) :
But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَA group of scholars held that one does not commit major disbelief (shirk) by doing so, and his fasting and worship are not invalidated if he acknowledges the obligation, but he abandoned prayer out of negligence and laziness.
The correct view is the first one, which is that one commits major disbelief (shirk) by abandoning it if he does so deliberately, even if he acknowledges the obligation; due to many pieces of evidence, among which is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Between 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 كفرThe scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) elaborated on this in an independent treatise on the rulings of prayer and its abandonment, which is a beneficial treatise that is good to refer to and benefit from.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.