The Ruling on Citing Divine Decree as an Excuse for Sins
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Question:
A somewhat lengthy letter from one of the female listeners, Umm Khalid from Makkah al-Mukarramah. The letter contains some hardship, O Shaykh, and although it is long, I ask your permission to read a bit of it. She says: I am a woman who has been married for about twenty years, and I now have seven children, the eldest of whom is eighteen years old and the youngest is four. Since the day of our marriage, my husband has not prayed. At the beginning of our marriage, he fasted for three Ramadans and only prayed during those times, but after that time, he does not pray and does not fast. I am a woman who prays and fasts and fears Allah. Many times I have told him to pray, but he would say: If it is in the right hand [of destiny], I will enter Paradise, and if it is in the left hand, I will enter the Fire, so his prayer, or its absence, is of no benefit. In these recent months, I heard from your program that a woman who fasts and prays is not permissible for a man who does not pray or fast, so I spoke to him about this, and problems arose. After that—and for the last few months—he has started praying one time and not another, and he delays the 'Asr and 'Isha' prayers, and he does not go to the mosque, even though we hear the adhan and we are in the house. I ask you to guide me on how to act. She has other questions related to the same topic; should I read them all at once, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: ..... Later.
The presenter : Yes.
Answer:
We ask Allah for guidance for us and for him, we ask Allah for guidance for us and for him. This statement of his: "If I am in the right hand, I will enter Paradise," and so on, is a mistake. One does not cite divine decree as an excuse. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, they said: O Messenger of Allah! When he said to them:Sahih al-Bukhari 4945 The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah! Should we then rely on our record and leave off the deeds? He said (peace and blessings be upon him): اعملوا فكل ميسر لما خلق له، أما أهل السعادة فسييسرون لعمل أهل السعادة، وأما أهل الشقاوة فسييسرون لعمل أهل الشقاوة، ثم تلا قوله تعالى: فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى Work, for everyone is facilitated for what he was created for. As for the people of happiness, they will be facilitated for the work of the people of happiness, and as for the people of misery, they will be facilitated for the work of the people of misery. Then he recited the saying of the Exalted: "But as for he who gave and feared Allah, and believed in the best, We will facilitate him for ease. But as for he who withheld and considered himself self-sufficient, and denied the best, We will facilitate him for hardship." [Al-Layl:5-10].
So it is not permissible for anyone to cite divine decree as an excuse. Rather, every person, whether man or woman, must fear Allah, and must act in obedience to Allah through prayer, fasting, Hajj, zakah, and other things. He must also beware of the sins of Allah. Allah has given him intellect, and given him hearing, and given him sight. He must use the blessings that Allah has given him. It is not permissible for him to cite divine decree as an excuse. And can he cite divine decree and sit without eating or drinking if he is sincere? Let him sit without eating or drinking and say: "If Allah has written for me that I live, I will live!" He is lying; he cannot remain. Rather, he must eat and drink.
So the point is: this citing of divine decree as an excuse is a false matter. So it is not permissible to cite divine decree, neither in his eating and drinking, nor in his intercourse with his wife, nor in his seeking of children, nor in his dutifulness to his parents, nor in his seeking of trade, nor in his travels, nor in his farming, nor in anything else.
So likewise in his prayer, likewise in his fasting, likewise in his other deeds. He has no right to cite divine decree as an excuse. Rather, he must do what Allah has made obligatory, and leave what Allah has forbidden. Just as it is obligatory for him to seek provision and take the causes for seeking provision that help him in the obedience of Allah and make him independent of people, through buying and selling, or through the path of farming, or carpentry, or blacksmithing, or tailoring, or other such causes. He has no right to cite divine decree and say: "I will sit in my house and not do the causes, and provision will come to me!" This is a mistake that no sane person would say.
So likewise in prayer and worship, it is not permissible to leave prayer and say: "I, if I am among the people of happiness, will enter Paradise, and otherwise I am among the people of the Fire." This is all false, and it is not permissible to cite divine decree as an excuse ever. And this is the argument of the polytheists: [Al-An'am:148] And Allah did not excuse them .
So it is obligatory for your husband to fear Allah, and to watch over his obedience to Allah, and to pray with the Muslims in the mosques, and to maintain that, and to fast Ramadan, and to pay the zakah of his wealth if he has wealth, and to perform the Hajj of the House, the obligatory Hajj, the fard, which is once in a lifetime, and to be dutiful to his parents, and to fulfill the right of his wife, and so on.
And it is obligatory for you to refrain from him, and not to allow him access to yourself until he repents to Allah with a sincere repentance, until he prays all the times. As long as he does not pray, he is a disbeliever, and it is not permissible for you to allow him access to yourself. This is the truth, and this is the correct opinion from the words of the scholars: that whoever leaves it has committed disbelief, even if he does not deny its obligation. Because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) And he said (peace and blessings be upon him): In many other hadiths that indicate the disbelief of the one who leaves prayer. So fear Allah, O you, and beware of his evil, and distance yourself from him at your family's home until Allah accepts his repentance. And if he refuses, then raise the matter to the court, and the court will look into the matter. And do not be lenient in this ever. We ask Allah for guidance for us and for him.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. We will return to your letter, O Umm Khalid, in a future session, if Allah wills.
A somewhat lengthy letter from one of the female listeners, Umm Khalid from Makkah al-Mukarramah. The letter contains some hardship, O Shaykh, and although it is long, I ask your permission to read a bit of it. She says: I am a woman who has been married for about twenty years, and I now have seven children, the eldest of whom is eighteen years old and the youngest is four. Since the day of our marriage, my husband has not prayed. At the beginning of our marriage, he fasted for three Ramadans and only prayed during those times, but after that time, he does not pray and does not fast. I am a woman who prays and fasts and fears Allah. Many times I have told him to pray, but he would say: If it is in the right hand [of destiny], I will enter Paradise, and if it is in the left hand, I will enter the Fire, so his prayer, or its absence, is of no benefit. In these recent months, I heard from your program that a woman who fasts and prays is not permissible for a man who does not pray or fast, so I spoke to him about this, and problems arose. After that—and for the last few months—he has started praying one time and not another, and he delays the 'Asr and 'Isha' prayers, and he does not go to the mosque, even though we hear the adhan and we are in the house. I ask you to guide me on how to act. She has other questions related to the same topic; should I read them all at once, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: ..... Later.
The presenter : Yes.
Answer:
We ask Allah for guidance for us and for him, we ask Allah for guidance for us and for him. This statement of his: "If I am in the right hand, I will enter Paradise," and so on, is a mistake. One does not cite divine decree as an excuse. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, they said: O Messenger of Allah! When he said to them:
There is none of you but has his place written for him in Paradise or in the Hell- Fire.
ما منكم من أحد إلا وقد علم مقعده من الجنة ومقعده من النارSo it is not permissible for anyone to cite divine decree as an excuse. Rather, every person, whether man or woman, must fear Allah, and must act in obedience to Allah through prayer, fasting, Hajj, zakah, and other things. He must also beware of the sins of Allah. Allah has given him intellect, and given him hearing, and given him sight. He must use the blessings that Allah has given him. It is not permissible for him to cite divine decree as an excuse. And can he cite divine decree and sit without eating or drinking if he is sincere? Let him sit without eating or drinking and say: "If Allah has written for me that I live, I will live!" He is lying; he cannot remain. Rather, he must eat and drink.
So the point is: this citing of divine decree as an excuse is a false matter. So it is not permissible to cite divine decree, neither in his eating and drinking, nor in his intercourse with his wife, nor in his seeking of children, nor in his dutifulness to his parents, nor in his seeking of trade, nor in his travels, nor in his farming, nor in anything else.
So likewise in his prayer, likewise in his fasting, likewise in his other deeds. He has no right to cite divine decree as an excuse. Rather, he must do what Allah has made obligatory, and leave what Allah has forbidden. Just as it is obligatory for him to seek provision and take the causes for seeking provision that help him in the obedience of Allah and make him independent of people, through buying and selling, or through the path of farming, or carpentry, or blacksmithing, or tailoring, or other such causes. He has no right to cite divine decree and say: "I will sit in my house and not do the causes, and provision will come to me!" This is a mistake that no sane person would say.
So likewise in prayer and worship, it is not permissible to leave prayer and say: "I, if I am among the people of happiness, will enter Paradise, and otherwise I am among the people of the Fire." This is all false, and it is not permissible to cite divine decree as an excuse ever. And this is the argument of the polytheists:
If Allah had willed, we would not have associated
لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَاSo it is obligatory for your husband to fear Allah, and to watch over his obedience to Allah, and to pray with the Muslims in the mosques, and to maintain that, and to fast Ramadan, and to pay the zakah of his wealth if he has wealth, and to perform the Hajj of the House, the obligatory Hajj, the fard, which is once in a lifetime, and to be dutiful to his parents, and to fulfill the right of his wife, and so on.
And it is obligatory for you to refrain from him, and not to allow him access to yourself until he repents to Allah with a sincere repentance, until he prays all the times. As long as he does not pray, he is a disbeliever, and it is not permissible for you to allow him access to yourself. This is the truth, and this is the correct opinion from the words of the scholars: that whoever leaves it has committed disbelief, even if he does not deny its obligation. Because of 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 a man and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of prayer.
بين الرجل، وبين الكفر والشرك ترك الصلاةThe presenter: O Allah, amen. We will return to your letter, O Umm Khalid, in a future session, if Allah wills.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.