What is the ruling on the one who abandons prayer?

Question:
We also return to the message from the listener: Ahmad Abdullah Muhammad Ali Jum'a, from Sudan. We presented some of his questions in previous episodes, and in this episode he asks about the ruling on the one who abandons prayer?

Answer:
The ruling on the one who abandons prayer is detailed by the scholars:
If he abandons it while denying its obligation, saying, "It is not obligatory," and he is of sound mind, he is a disbeliever by the consensus of the Muslims; because he is lying about Allah and His Messenger. Allah the Exalted says: [al-Baqarah:43] And He the Exalted says: [al-Baqarah:238] And He (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [al-Nisa:103] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And when Jibril asked him about Islam, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So prayer is the pillar of Islam, and whoever denies its obligation is a disbeliever by the consensus of the Muslims. If he is far from Islam in places where Islam is not known, it is explained to him, the proof is established against him, and the verses are mentioned to him. If he persists in denying its obligation, he is a disbeliever by the consensus of the Muslims.
As for the one who is among the Muslims, who hears the Qur'an and the Sunnah, if he denies it, he is a disbeliever.
But if he abandons it while not denying it, but out of laziness, a group of scholars held that he is also a disbeliever, if he abandons it even if he does not deny its obligation; because it is the pillar of Islam, and authentic hadiths have been narrated indicating the disbelief of the one who abandons it. Abdullah ibn Shaqiq al-Aqili transmitted this from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): that they did not consider anything whose abandonment is disbelief except prayer. And because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih.
And when disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) are mentioned, the intended meaning is major disbelief and major shirk; and because of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And this is the stronger and most correct of the two opinions: that he is a disbeliever with major disbelief, we seek refuge in Allah, even if he did not deny its obligation, whether he abandons it all, or abandons Fajr or Zuhr, or 'Asr, or sometimes prays and sometimes does not pray, he is a disbeliever by that, and he must renew a sincere repentance.
And the majority of the four Imams, from the Malikis, the Hanafis, and the Shafi'is, held that he is not a disbeliever, and that it is minor disbelief and minor shirk, and this is the opinion of a group of the Hanbalis as well. But the correct opinion is the first one: that it is major disbelief; because the scriptural evidence indicates his disbelief; because it is the pillar of Islam, so one must be cautious of that.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim to be cautious of abandoning prayer, and to maintain it in all times, Maghrib, 'Isha', Fajr, Zuhr, and 'Asr. He must maintain them all, and pray them in congregation as well if he is a man; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And when a blind man asked him, he said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to the mosque, so do I have a dispensation to pray in my house?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: He said: Yes. He said: A blind man who has no guide suitable for him, and yet he is told: Pray in congregation. How much more so for the seeing person, for whom the obligation is more severe and greater.
And because abandoning the congregation is a means to abandoning [prayer], not praying in congregation is a means to abandoning it completely and being negligent with it.
So it is obligatory for every person of legal age and every Muslim to be cautious of that, and to pray it in congregation, and to maintain it, and to be cautious of imitating the people of falsehood, to be cautious of the company of the wicked who abandon it and are negligent with it; so that he may be extremely cautious of them.
And being negligent with it is among the characteristics of the hypocrites, so it is not permissible for a Muslim to imitate them. Allah the Exalted says: [al-Nisa:142] So be cautious of resembling the enemies of Allah, the hypocrites. Allah says regarding them: [al-Nisa:145].
So it is obligatory to be cautious of the characteristics of the hypocrites, and it is obligatory for both men and women to maintain it in its times. The man performs it in congregation, and the woman performs it in her house, and she maintains it in its time, and is cautious of laziness and negligence, for it is the foundation of Islam, and it is the distinguishing factor between disbelief and Islam. In the authentic hadith, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: -meaning on the Day of Resurrection- And this is among the evidence for the disbelief of the one who abandons it.
So it is obligatory for every Muslim to fear Allah, and to maintain prayer in congregation, and likewise every Muslim woman must fear Allah, watch over her relationship with Allah, and maintain prayer in its time at all times. It is not permissible to delay Fajr until the sun rises, until he goes to work. No, he must pray it in its time with the congregation in the mosques of Allah. If he prays it in his house, it is valid with sin, but he does not have the right to delay it until the sun rises, nor delay 'Asr until the sun turns yellow, nor delay Maghrib until the twilight disappears. He must pray in its time, and he must pray in congregation if he is a man in the mosques. If he neglects it and wastes it, he is a disbeliever, we ask Allah for safety, by the text of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) where he said (peace and blessings be upon him): And the ruling is general for the man and the woman; therefore in the other hadith: So the rulings are shared; what is established for the man is established for the woman, and what is established for the woman is established for the man, except what is indicated by evidence of specificity.
So my advice to every Muslim and Muslim woman is to magnify prayer, and to care for it, and to maintain it, and to maintain its purity, and all its matters, and the sutrah (barrier) in it. Purity is a condition that is necessary, and the time is likewise, and facing the qiblah is likewise necessary. So it is obligatory for everyone to care for these matters, and to care for purity and the sutrah, covering the 'awrah (nakedness), and to care for facing the qiblah, and to pray it in its time. The man performs it in congregation in the mosques of Allah with his brothers.
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to write to his governors and his commanders, and say: Meaning: when he wastes prayer, he wastes his religion. We ask Allah for safety. You will not find a person who is negligent with prayer except that he is negligent with his religion, so it is a sign of negligence, and a sign of maintenance. Whoever maintains it maintains the rest of the religion, and his affairs are straightened. And whoever wastes it and is negligent with it is negligent with the rest of the religion, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah.
And it is established in the Musnad -Musnad of Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him)- from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said one day to his Companions: We ask Allah for safety. And he is gathered with these disbelievers; because if he wastes it for the sake of leadership; because he is a king, or because he is a president of the republic, or a sheikh of a tribe, he has resembled Pharaoh, so he is gathered with Pharaoh in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.
And if he wastes prayer for the sake of ministry, he has resembled Haman, the minister of Pharaoh, so he is gathered with him in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, we ask Allah for safety.
And if he wastes prayer for the sake of wealth and desires, he has resembled Qarun, whom Allah caused the earth to swallow along with his family, so he will be with him on the Day of Resurrection in the Fire, we ask Allah for safety.
And if he wastes it for the sake of transactions and trade, he has resembled Abu ibn Khalf, the merchant of the people of Mecca. Abu ibn Khalf was among the merchants of the people of Mecca. He was killed on the day of Uhud, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) killed him with his noble hand (peace and blessings be upon him), as a disbeliever. So whoever wastes prayer for the sake of buying and selling and transactions has resembled the enemy of Allah, Abu ibn Khalf, so he is gathered with him in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.
So it is necessary to be cautious -O brothers- for the sake of Allah, it is necessary to be cautious O Muslims, O Muslims we advise you with prayer, strive for it, maintain it in its times, with humility and tranquility, and not tapping [feet], and not rushing. Fear Allah in your prayer, maintain it, be calm in it, be humble in it for Allah, do not rush. Perform it with tranquility, and humility in the recitation, and in the bowing, and in the prostration, and in the rising after the bowing, and between the two prostrations. When he bows, he says: Subhan Rabbi al-Azim (Glory to my Lord the Great), he does not rush. Subhan Rabbi al-Azim, Subhan Rabbi al-Azim, Subhanaka Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li (Glory to You, O our Lord, and praise, O Allah, forgive me), he does not rush, he is tranquil. And when he rises, he says: Sami' Allahu li man hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him), if he is an imam or praying alone. And if he is a ma'mum (one praying behind the imam), he says: Rabbana wa laka al-hamd, hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fihi, mil' al-sama'at wa mil' al-ard wa mil' ma baynahuma wa mil' ma sha'ta min shay'in ba'd (Our Lord and to You is praise, much good and blessed praise, filling the heavens and filling the earth and filling what is between them and filling what You will of anything after). He is tranquil, he straightens up, standing.
Then he descends into prostration, straightening himself out in prostration on the seven limbs: his forehead, his nose, his two hands, his two knees, and the tips of his two feet. He remains calm and says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You be praise, O Allah, forgive me. He supplicates to his Lord in his prostration and humbles himself before Allah in prostration. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning: It is likely that your supplications will be answered. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And likewise, between the two prostrations, he remains calm and does not rush. He says: My Lord, forgive me, My Lord, forgive me, O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, heal me, provide for me, and grant me well-being. He does not rush. Then he prostrates the second time, saying Allahu Akbar, and prostrates the second time, remaining calm. He says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You be praise, O Allah, forgive me. He supplicates with whatever is easy for him, not rushing. This is how the believer does it. So the man performs it in congregation, in the mosques of Allah, and he hastens to it when he hears the call to prayer: "Hayya 'ala al-salah" (Come to prayer), "Hayya 'ala al-falah" (Come to success). He rushes and hastens to this great act of worship. And the believing woman does the same in her home; she prays it in her home at its time, with humility, calmness, focus, and presence of heart. We ask Allah for guidance and success for everyone.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, may Allah reward you with good.