The Ruling on Refraining from Prayer Due to Sins
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Question:
From the province of Nineveh in Iraq, this is a message sent by the listener Muhsin Maf'aw Ahmad to our brother, containing seven questions. In his first question, he says: Most of the youth, when I advise them to pray, say: We cannot pray because we look at women, especially those who display their adornment. Does looking prevent prayer? Or does it invalidate it? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is a false excuse. It is obligatory for them to pray with the Muslims and to maintain what Allah has made obligatory upon them, namely prayer and lowering the gaze. Prayer in congregation in the mosques is an obligation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Bulugh al-Maram 2:308, and it is the pillar of Islam. It is obligatory for the Muslim to perform it if he is accountable. It is obligatory for him to perform it, and abandoning it is disbelief in Allah and misguidance. Seeing women in the street or in the mosque, if they are praying in the mosque, is not an excuse for abandoning prayer or abandoning the congregation. Rather, this is an error and an evil, and it is excusing one evil with another evil, which is abandoning prayer. We ask Allah for safety.
It is obligatory for the Muslim to lower his gaze, to fear Allah, and to lower his gaze from women in the markets and in every place. It is not an excuse for him to go to prayer that he encounters women on the way. If he encounters women on the way, he lowers his gaze and strives against his self. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [al-Nur: 30].
So the Muslim lowers his gaze, fears Allah, guards his private parts, and performs what Allah has made obligatory upon him of prayer in the mosques of Allah with the Muslims, fearing Allah and hoping for His reward. He said, the Exalted: [al-Nur: 36], and he said, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him: Bulugh al-Maram 2:308 And he said regarding the matter of prayer and its greatness: Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) Narrated by Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan with a sound chain. And he said, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him: Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, may Allah have mercy on him, in other hadiths indicating the greatness of its status. And he said, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2616Hasan (Darussalam) And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to burn down the houses of those who lag behind, those who lag behind from prayer in congregation.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim and every Muslim woman to fear Allah and to maintain prayer at its times, and to beware of lagging behind it, for lagging behind it is among the characteristics of the people of hypocrisy and among the characteristics of the disbelievers, and among the causes of entering the Fire. Allah, the Exalted, said in His great Book regarding the disbelievers: [al-Muddaththir: 43], so they answered that they entered the Fire because they were not among those who prayed. We ask Allah for safety.
So the believer fears Allah in everything; he lowers his gaze, guards his private parts, and guards his limbs from what Allah has forbidden, and he performs what Allah has made obligatory of prayer, zakah, dutifulness to parents, maintaining family ties, and other things. He combines this with that. This abode is the abode of action, the abode of accountability, the abode of trial and examination. So it is obligatory for every Muslim and every Muslim woman to fear Allah, to maintain what Allah has made obligatory, to stay away from the prohibitions of Allah, and to stand by the limits of Allah, hoping for the reward of Allah and fearing the punishment of Allah. For this He created them. He said, the Exalted: [al-Dhariyat: 56].
And this is worship: prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, jihad, enjoining good and forbidding evil, calling to Allah, dutifulness to parents, maintaining family ties... and so on, from what Allah has prescribed. And likewise, abandoning the prohibitions that Allah has forbidden upon His servants, abandoning them is obedience to Allah and exalting Him, and it is among the best of the means of nearness. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
From the province of Nineveh in Iraq, this is a message sent by the listener Muhsin Maf'aw Ahmad to our brother, containing seven questions. In his first question, he says: Most of the youth, when I advise them to pray, say: We cannot pray because we look at women, especially those who display their adornment. Does looking prevent prayer? Or does it invalidate it? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is a false excuse. It is obligatory for them to pray with the Muslims and to maintain what Allah has made obligatory upon them, namely prayer and lowering the gaze. Prayer in congregation in the mosques is an obligation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
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 عذرIt is obligatory for the Muslim to lower his gaze, to fear Allah, and to lower his gaze from women in the markets and in every place. It is not an excuse for him to go to prayer that he encounters women on the way. If he encounters women on the way, he lowers his gaze and strives against his self. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: :
Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do.
قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَSo the Muslim lowers his gaze, fears Allah, guards his private parts, and performs what Allah has made obligatory upon him of prayer in the mosques of Allah with the Muslims, fearing Allah and hoping for His reward. He said, the Exalted:
in mosques which Allah has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned therein
فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُWhoever 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 عذرThe 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 head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the Salat
رأس الأمر الإسلام وعموده الصلاةSo it is obligatory for every Muslim and every Muslim woman to fear Allah and to maintain prayer at its times, and to beware of lagging behind it, for lagging behind it is among the characteristics of the people of hypocrisy and among the characteristics of the disbelievers, and among the causes of entering the Fire. Allah, the Exalted, said in His great Book regarding the disbelievers:
(42) [And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?" (43) They will say, "We were not of those who prayed,
مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَSo the believer fears Allah in everything; he lowers his gaze, guards his private parts, and guards his limbs from what Allah has forbidden, and he performs what Allah has made obligatory of prayer, zakah, dutifulness to parents, maintaining family ties, and other things. He combines this with that. This abode is the abode of action, the abode of accountability, the abode of trial and examination. So it is obligatory for every Muslim and every Muslim woman to fear Allah, to maintain what Allah has made obligatory, to stay away from the prohibitions of Allah, and to stand by the limits of Allah, hoping for the reward of Allah and fearing the punishment of Allah. For this He created them. He said, the Exalted:
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِAnd this is worship: prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, jihad, enjoining good and forbidding evil, calling to Allah, dutifulness to parents, maintaining family ties... and so on, from what Allah has prescribed. And likewise, abandoning the prohibitions that Allah has forbidden upon His servants, abandoning them is obedience to Allah and exalting Him, and it is among the best of the means of nearness. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.