The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever says: There is no god but Allah, will enter Paradise.” What is the meaning of this hadith, and does the one who abandons prayer out of negligence or
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The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Ibn Hibban 4:44, I ask for an explanation of this hadith? And does the one who abandons prayer out of negligence or laziness remain in the Fire forever?
The Shaykh : The meaning of this hadith is that whoever says: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, will enter Paradise, because if he says this: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, he must perform the worship of Allah, because the meaning of “There is no god but Allah” is that there is no true object of worship except Allah, and if its meaning is that there is no true object of worship except Allah, then if he says it with his tongue and does not worship Allah, it becomes words of no benefit. How can you say there is no true object of worship except Allah and then not worship Him?!
This is not correct, and therefore whoever says: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, must perform the worship of Allah, otherwise he is not truthful. So the meaning of the hadith is:Sahih Ibn Hibban 4:44, meaning sincerely from his heart. At that point, the question remains: is it possible for one who says: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, to abandon prayer and persist in leaving it off out of laziness and negligence?!
That is absolutely impossible, and how can he abandon prayer and persist in leaving it off while he knows what it contains of virtue, honor, and reward?
Indeed, a man may perform wudu' in his house, completing the wudu' thoroughly, and then go out to the mosque for prayer, not taking a step without Allah raising him a degree for it and removing from him a sin for it, and the wudu' and going to the mosque are means to prayer, not prayer itself.
And what indicates its importance is that Allah made it obligatory upon His Prophet without any intermediary, on a night that is the most noble of nights for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in a place that is the highest that any human has reached, as far as we know, and then He made it fifty prayers, which indicates its importance, and that if a person spends most of his time in it, it is worthy of him, and then he persists in abandoning it, where is Islam?
Therefore, the stronger opinion, which is supported by the indications of the Book and the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and correct reasoning, is that whoever abandons prayer out of negligence and laziness, even if he acknowledges its obligation, is a disbeliever with a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and he will remain in the Fire forever on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be gathered with Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, and Abu Jahl, and he will not be left in that state but will be killed, and if he is killed, he will not be washed, shrouded, prayed over, or buried with the Muslims, but he will be taken out without honor or respect, and a hole will be dug for him in the open ground where he will be thrown in, so that people are not bothered by his smell, and his family by seeing him.
All the hadiths cited by those who say that he does not become a disbeliever are either weak, or have no indication, or are general and were specified by abandoning prayer, or are restricted by a condition under which abandoning prayer is not possible. As for finding a hadith that says: the one who abandons prayer does not become a disbeliever and does not remain in the Fire forever, this does not exist at all. The most that can be said is: it is general and was specified by the evidence of the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer. This is the most that can be said.
We have elaborated on this in several answers in Nur 'ala al-Darb, and in the telephone answers, as I think, and we have written a treatise on it in which we mentioned the evidence indicating his disbelief, then the evidence cited by those who said he does not become a disbeliever, and we answered them.
Do not consider it a great thing, O my Muslim brother, to declare as a disbeliever one whom Allah and His Messenger have declared a disbeliever. The matter is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic); whoever Allah has declared a disbeliever, He knows best that he is a disbeliever, so let us declare him a disbeliever, and it is obligatory upon us to declare him a disbeliever. And whoever Allah has not declared a disbeliever, it is forbidden for us to declare him a disbeliever, and even if we think that his action is disbelief, it is not permissible for us to declare him a disbeliever based on mere suspicion until clear evidence of his disbelief is established.
And I swear by Allah, if the evidence in my view were not as clear as the sun regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, I would never say it, and whenever it is possible to interpret the disbelief as disbelief of gratitude or as a disbelief less than full disbelief, that is what is obligatory, but it is not possible for us in the evidence of the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, so what do we do?
The whole matter is for Allah and the whole judgment is for Allah, and the disbeliever is the one whom Allah has declared a disbeliever, and the believer is the one whom Allah has judged to be a believer.
Whoever says: There is no god but Allah, will enter Paradise
من قال : لا إله إلا الله دخل الجنةThe Shaykh : The meaning of this hadith is that whoever says: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, will enter Paradise, because if he says this: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, he must perform the worship of Allah, because the meaning of “There is no god but Allah” is that there is no true object of worship except Allah, and if its meaning is that there is no true object of worship except Allah, then if he says it with his tongue and does not worship Allah, it becomes words of no benefit. How can you say there is no true object of worship except Allah and then not worship Him?!
This is not correct, and therefore whoever says: There is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart, must perform the worship of Allah, otherwise he is not truthful. So the meaning of the hadith is:
Whoever says: There is no god but Allah, will enter Paradise
من قال : لا إله إلا الله دخل الجنةThat is absolutely impossible, and how can he abandon prayer and persist in leaving it off while he knows what it contains of virtue, honor, and reward?
Indeed, a man may perform wudu' in his house, completing the wudu' thoroughly, and then go out to the mosque for prayer, not taking a step without Allah raising him a degree for it and removing from him a sin for it, and the wudu' and going to the mosque are means to prayer, not prayer itself.
And what indicates its importance is that Allah made it obligatory upon His Prophet without any intermediary, on a night that is the most noble of nights for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in a place that is the highest that any human has reached, as far as we know, and then He made it fifty prayers, which indicates its importance, and that if a person spends most of his time in it, it is worthy of him, and then he persists in abandoning it, where is Islam?
Therefore, the stronger opinion, which is supported by the indications of the Book and the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and correct reasoning, is that whoever abandons prayer out of negligence and laziness, even if he acknowledges its obligation, is a disbeliever with a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and he will remain in the Fire forever on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be gathered with Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, and Abu Jahl, and he will not be left in that state but will be killed, and if he is killed, he will not be washed, shrouded, prayed over, or buried with the Muslims, but he will be taken out without honor or respect, and a hole will be dug for him in the open ground where he will be thrown in, so that people are not bothered by his smell, and his family by seeing him.
All the hadiths cited by those who say that he does not become a disbeliever are either weak, or have no indication, or are general and were specified by abandoning prayer, or are restricted by a condition under which abandoning prayer is not possible. As for finding a hadith that says: the one who abandons prayer does not become a disbeliever and does not remain in the Fire forever, this does not exist at all. The most that can be said is: it is general and was specified by the evidence of the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer. This is the most that can be said.
We have elaborated on this in several answers in Nur 'ala al-Darb, and in the telephone answers, as I think, and we have written a treatise on it in which we mentioned the evidence indicating his disbelief, then the evidence cited by those who said he does not become a disbeliever, and we answered them.
Do not consider it a great thing, O my Muslim brother, to declare as a disbeliever one whom Allah and His Messenger have declared a disbeliever. The matter is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic); whoever Allah has declared a disbeliever, He knows best that he is a disbeliever, so let us declare him a disbeliever, and it is obligatory upon us to declare him a disbeliever. And whoever Allah has not declared a disbeliever, it is forbidden for us to declare him a disbeliever, and even if we think that his action is disbelief, it is not permissible for us to declare him a disbeliever based on mere suspicion until clear evidence of his disbelief is established.
And I swear by Allah, if the evidence in my view were not as clear as the sun regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, I would never say it, and whenever it is possible to interpret the disbelief as disbelief of gratitude or as a disbelief less than full disbelief, that is what is obligatory, but it is not possible for us in the evidence of the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer, so what do we do?
The whole matter is for Allah and the whole judgment is for Allah, and the disbeliever is the one whom Allah has declared a disbeliever, and the believer is the one whom Allah has judged to be a believer.