What is the obligation toward one who does not pray?
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Question:
A man says: I do not pray. What is my obligation, and what is the obligation of the Muslims toward him?
Answer:
The one who does not pray is a disbeliever, by the explicit text of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Muslim narrated it in "Sahih Muslim." He also said, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him: Sunan Ibn Majah 1079Sahih (Darussalam) Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan narrated it with a sound chain, and there are many other hadiths.
So the ruling for the one who does not pray is disbelief, and the rulers must call him to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, it is obligatory to kill him. Allah the Exalted said: [At-Tawbah: 5], which indicates that one who does not establish prayer is not to be left alone. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4928Sahih (Al-Albani), which indicates that the one who does not pray is to be killed. He is to be called to repent, and if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is to be killed as a disbeliever, which is the correct view.
A group of scholars said: He is to be killed as a disobedient sinner who has committed a major sin. The correct view is that he is to be killed as a disbeliever—we seek refuge in Allah.
This is if he denied the obligation. But if he denied the obligation of prayer and said: It is not obligatory! It has no binding force; then he is a disbeliever in the view of all scholars. He is a disbeliever with major shirk in the view of all scholars.
The disagreement is only if he acknowledges its obligation and knows that it is an obligatory fard, but he is lax and leaves it off. This is the one who is declared a disbeliever by a group of scholars, and this is the correct view. It is what the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) agreed upon, and it is what the Sunnah indicates.
A man says: I do not pray. What is my obligation, and what is the obligation of the Muslims toward him?
Answer:
The one who does not pray is a disbeliever, by the explicit text of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Between a man and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of prayer.
بين الرجل وبين الكفر والشرك: ترك الصلاةThe covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; so whoever leaves it, he has committed Kufr.
العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة، فمَن تركها فقد كفرSo the ruling for the one who does not pray is disbelief, and the rulers must call him to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, it is obligatory to kill him. Allah the Exalted said:
But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way
فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْI have been prohibited from killing people who pray
نُهِيتُ عن قتل المُصلينA group of scholars said: He is to be killed as a disobedient sinner who has committed a major sin. The correct view is that he is to be killed as a disbeliever—we seek refuge in Allah.
This is if he denied the obligation. But if he denied the obligation of prayer and said: It is not obligatory! It has no binding force; then he is a disbeliever in the view of all scholars. He is a disbeliever with major shirk in the view of all scholars.
The disagreement is only if he acknowledges its obligation and knows that it is an obligatory fard, but he is lax and leaves it off. This is the one who is declared a disbeliever by a group of scholars, and this is the correct view. It is what the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) agreed upon, and it is what the Sunnah indicates.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.