Ruling on the statement: Whoever frequents the mosques is to be certified as a believer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q158: The questioner asks: When a man becomes accustomed to frequenting the mosques, is he to be certified as a believer simply by his frequenting of the mosques?
A158: We base our judgment on the apparent reality. If he frequents the mosques, prays with the congregation, and maintains this, then we certify him as such. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:18], and it was reported in a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sunan Ibn Majah 802Da'if (Darussalam) However, there is a defect in the chain of this hadith. But the noble verse
[At-Tawbah 9:18] is evidence that the one who frequents the mosques and persists in it with the congregation, that this is a sign of faith. And we have nothing but the apparent reality. Just as missing the congregation is one of the signs of hypocrisy; for this reason, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I have seen us, and none would miss it except a known hypocrite whose hypocrisy is known." And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: Sahih Muslim 651b Attending the mosques and persisting in the congregational prayer with the Muslims is a sign of faith, and missing it without an excuse is a sign of hypocrisy.
A158: We base our judgment on the apparent reality. If he frequents the mosques, prays with the congregation, and maintains this, then we certify him as such. Allah the Exalted said:
The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ فَعَسَى أُولَئِكَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَIf you see a man frequenting the mosques, then bear witness to his faith
إذا رأيتم الرجل يعتاد المساجد فاشهدوا له بالإيمانThe mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ فَعَسَى أُولَئِكَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَThe most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the night prayer and the morning prayer. If they were to know the blessings they have in store, they would have come to them, even though crawling, and I thought that I should order the prayer to be commenced and command a person to lead people in prayer, and I should then go along with some persons having a fagot of fuel with them to the people who have not attended the prayer (in congregation) and would burn their houses with fire.
إن أثقل صلاة على المنافقين صلاة العشاء وصلاة الفجر ولو يعلمون ما فيهما ؛ لأتوهما ولو حبوًا، ولقد هممت أن آمر بالصلاة فتقام، ثم آمر رجلاً فيصلي بالناس، ثم أنطلق معي برجال معهم حزم من حطب، إلى قوم لا يشهدون الصلاة، فأحرق عليهم بيوتهم بالنار
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.