Ruling on remaining with a husband who does not pray and orders one to abandon prayer

Question:
A letter reached the program from one of the female listeners. The questioner (M. R. 'A) says in her letter: She is a young girl, and my father married me to a man about whom he knew nothing, except that he was from the same family. After the marriage, his despicable actions became apparent, which Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) do not approve of. He abandons prayer, is bad in his treatment, and what is hidden is even greater. I am now seeking separation, especially since he demands that I abandon prayer. The obstacle in my way is that he demands I pay him the mahr multiplied many times over.
Please guide me on this matter. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Your father has done wrong—may Allah pardon us and him—in marrying you to a man whose religious state he did not know. This is an error on your father’s part. It is obligatory for every father, and for every guardian, to look after the one under his guardianship, and not to marry her except to one who is known for his religion, righteousness, and goodness, and not to be lax in this matter, whether for a relative or a non-relative; because she is a trust in the guardian’s care.
So it is obligatory to choose for her one who is known for righteousness and goodness, a good reputation, and maintaining prayer in congregation.
And if he neglects this, he has done wrong and sinned, and the one under his guardianship has the choice in that. If she sees what displeases her in the form of sins, she has the right to seek annulment, to seek divorce. And if she sees from him what necessitates disbelief, it is obligatory for her to do so, such as abandoning prayer; because abandoning prayer is disbelief. The one who abandons prayer and orders the abandonment of prayer is among the most disbelieving of people, we seek refuge in Allah. Even if he says: “I know its obligation, and I acknowledge its obligation,” as long as he abandons it, and on top of that orders its abandonment, this is a great evil. And the noble Prophet (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him) said: And he said (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him): .
So it is obligatory for you to go to your family, and not to give him access to yourself, until he repents to Allah , and maintains prayer as Allah commanded, and then after that he renews the marriage with you, with a lawful marriage if you are pleased with that, and the repentance is established, he renews the marriage; because the marriage of a Muslim woman who prays to a husband who does not pray is not permissible, and is not valid, so the marriage is not valid, if he does not pray at the time of the marriage, and you—praise be to Allah—pray, so the marriage is not valid.
And he has no right to the money in the mahr; because the separation is from his side, he is the one who caused the separation by abandoning prayer, and the marriage is defective, and the mahr is yours for what he made lawful of your private parts, he has made lawful of your private parts by this defective marriage, what Allah has forbidden, so the mahr is yours, and it is upon your father to seek the court to separate you from him in the lawful manner that Allah has legislated for His servants, and with what the court deems sufficient—if Allah wills—yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. At the end of her letter, she mentioned, Your Eminence the Shaykh, that the father is not in a hurry in this matter, so he does not seek separation?

The Shaykh: The father must fear Allah, and make up for the evil he did, and repent to Allah from his bad action, and he must seek your release as he did what caused this defective marriage to occur. It is obligatory for him to fear Allah, and to watch over his relationship with Allah, and to contact the court until it separates you from him, unless it is facilitated that he separates without the court. And if your father gives him some of it from the perspective of ending the dispute quickly, there is no harm, if he gives him some known amount, to release you quickly, there is no harm in that. Otherwise, he has no right over you; because he is a disbeliever by abandoning prayer; and because he made lawful of your private parts what Allah has forbidden by this defective marriage, so the mahr is obligatory for you, and these are matters that the Shari'ah courts know, and they are sufficient, and praise be to Allah.
But if you settle with him, or with his relatives, that you give him something, and he divorces you, and you do not go to the court, there is no blame in that.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Shaykh Abdul Aziz, she also demanded that she abandon prayer, if he insists on her remaining with him, how does she become certain of his repentance?

The Shaykh: When he repents, he will not demand that she abandon prayer. When he repents, he will abandon this demand. If he demands that she abandon prayer, he is not repentant; because his demand to abandon prayer is greater and more heinous than his abandoning prayer. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. And the way to know his repentance, Shaykh Abdul Aziz, is?

The Shaykh: There must be proof, : From the knowledgeable among his neighbors and relatives. If two just men or more testify to his repentance, and it appears on him by the testimony of his neighbors and those around him from his friends, then this establishes the matter of repentance if the two or more witnesses are just. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. So: she does not return to him until she is completely certain by this method that you have favored us with?

Answer: And she does not return except with a new lawful marriage; because the first marriage is defective. So if she is pleased to return to him after repentance, it is necessary to renew the marriage. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.