The Ruling on Living with Roommates Who Do Not Pray

Question:
He says that he is one of the students in the university dormitory, and that he suffers from some of the students who do not pray. When the time for prayer comes, they sit by the television, so that we pray and return while they are still in their places. He says: We ask Allah, then your Eminence, to suggest a solution to this problem.


Answer:
This is a great calamity, for the student is a role model for his colleagues and others. It is obligatory for him to be at the peak of goodness and to be a righteous role model for his colleagues and others. Prayer is the pillar of Islam, and it is the greatest of the obligatory duties after the two testimonies. Therefore, it is obligatory for students of knowledge and every Muslim to care for prayer, attend to it, and beware of being negligent with it. His brothers and colleagues, if they see from him something wrong, should disapprove of it, advise him, and strive for his rectification. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says in His clear Book: [Al-Tawbah: 71].
So the believers, male and female, are allies who advise one another; they are not enemies, but allies who advise one another, warn one another against falsehood, do not envy one another, do not betray one another, do not deceive one another, do not lie about one another, do not bear false witness against one another, and do not leave one another upon a wrong. Rather, they teach one another and direct one another to good, and disapprove of the wrong in one another.
So the believer disapproves of his brother and his sister in Allah, and the believing women likewise disapprove of their sister in Allah and their brother in Allah if they see from them something wrong.
So it is upon the students to disapprove of one another if they see from their colleagues a wrong: whether it is leaving prayer, or being negligent with it, or drinking intoxicants, or smoking, or letting garments hang below the ankles, or shaving the beard, or other things that are disapproved of. Thus the believers advise one another, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong, wherever they are: in the college, in the restaurant, on the road, in the mosque, while traveling, while residing, on the plane, on the train, in the car, in every place. Thus are the believers, male and female, wherever they are.
And by this the society is rectified, and by this they are safe from the anger and punishment of Allah. But if people become indifferent, they have invited the punishment of Allah upon themselves. In "al-Sahihayn" it is narrated from Zaynab bint Jahsh, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon her one day while angry, saying: and he pointed with his two fingers: the thumb and the middle finger. So Zaynab said to him: O Messenger of Allah, will we perish while there are righteous people among us? He said: , and he made clear (peace and blessings be upon him) that people perish when the evil among them becomes abundant. And the evil is the wrong and the striving... in sins. So when the evil is found and not disapproved of, the punishment becomes widespread.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Imam Ahmad and others narrated it with a sound chain from the hadith of al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him).
So it is obligatory upon the teachers, the employees, and the students—upon all of them—to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. This is the obligation upon all of them; it does not concern one person to the exclusion of another, and it is not permissible to rely on others. But this is to be done with wisdom, with kind words, with a good manner, and with persistence. The teacher, the school, the female student, the female employee, the male employee, and the male student are all partners in this matter. So it is upon all of them to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and not to be heedless, and not to be lenient; so that they may be a righteous role model for others in this great good, and so that they may benefit one another, and so that they may take hold of one another’s hands, and so that good may prevail, and so that evil may decrease.
Thus the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded, and indeed thus Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded. And by this societies are rectified, and the society is safe from the punishment of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. And whenever people neglect this command, they are in great danger. There is no power and no strength except with Allah. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: They did not forbid one another from the wrong they committed; evil was what they used to do [Al-Ma'idah: 78-79], and He informed that they were cursed on the tongues of their prophets because of this: meaning: because of their disobedience and their transgression: , then He explained that by His saying: , so let the believer and the believing woman beware.