Ruling on Abandoning Prayer Out of Negligence and Laziness

We return at the beginning of this episode to the letter of our long-time listener, Idris Ibrahim. We presented a collection of his questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he asks and says: We ask you to be kind enough to inform us about the issue of the one who abandons prayer; does he become a disbeliever, or does he not? We want a complete detail from you regarding this, and we want you to list the evidence from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the sayings of the Companions regarding this. May Allah reward you with good; because this topic has occupied the minds of many Muslims, and may Allah guide you?
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
This is one of the great issues on which the scholars have differed, namely the issue of abandoning prayer out of negligence and laziness, not out of denial of its obligation. A group of scholars held that this constitutes disbelief based on numerous pieces of evidence, among which is the statement of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic: [Surah al-Muddaththir: 42-44], and His statement, the Exalted and Majestic: [Surah al-Tawbah: 11], which indicates that one who does not pray is not a brother in religion, even if he does not deny the obligation. It also includes the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith: , narrated by Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan with a sound chain, and his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): , narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. This is disbelief defined by the article "al" and shirk defined by the article "al," indicating that it is major disbelief and major shirk. He also said (peace and blessings be upon him): , so if the pillar is abandoned, it does not remain but falls. And he said (peace and blessings be upon him), when asked about the rulers who innovate in the religion and make changes: , and in the other wording: , so he classified abandoning prayer as open disbelief, which necessitates the disbelief of the one who commits it. Abdullah ibn Shaqiq al-'Uqayli, the great Tabi'i, mentioned regarding the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and their satisfaction that they did not consider anything whose abandonment is disbelief except prayer. He reported from all the Companions that they considered abandoning prayer to be disbelief, and it was not transmitted from them that they conditioned it on denying the obligation. This indicates that abandoning it without denying the obligation is disbelief, and the general use of the term "disbelief" in this context necessitates that it is major disbelief; because there are deeds among the Companions whose abandonment is disbelief and whose commission is disbelief, but it is not major disbelief, such as: slandering lineage and wailing over the deceased, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called: disbelief, but it is minor disbelief. Likewise, disavowal of lineage, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called: disbelief, a person's disavowal of his father: is minor disbelief. This indicates that the disbelief reported by Abdullah ibn Shaqiq from the Companions is major disbelief. And 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This statement is the most correct of the two statements and the stronger of the two statements in terms of evidence. As for one who denies the obligation, he is a disbeliever according to everyone. One who denies the obligation of prayer is a disbeliever according to everyone, even if he prays with the people; because he is a denier of Allah and His Messenger if he denies the obligation.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim and every Muslim woman to hasten and rush to prayer and to maintain it in its times, and to fear Allah in that and to beware of being with the disbelievers and among the disbelievers while he does not know. So prayer is the pillar of Islam and the greatest of its pillars after the two testimonies. So it is obligatory for all Muslims to maintain it, and to take care of it, and to perform it in its times, and for the man to pray it in congregation in the mosques of Allah, obedience to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and out of fear of what is described regarding its abandonment, which is disbelief. And we ask Allah for all Muslims success, guidance, and well-being from everything that angers Him.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.