A question regarding the ruling on abandoning the obligatory prayers
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Q341: The questioner says: If a person abandons most of the obligatory parts of the prayer and does not pray them, and then afterwards he wants to repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic for the prayers he missed, what should he do regarding the previous prayers that he did not pray?
A341: Prayer is the most emphatic of the pillars of Islam after the two testimonies, and it is the second pillar of Islam after the two testimonies. There are verses and authentic hadiths that emphasize its importance, urge its preservation, and warn those who neglect it and those who waste it, indicating the importance of prayer and its status in Islam; because it is the pillar of Islam, and because whoever preserves it will, a fortiori, preserve the rest of his religion, and will avoid what Allah has forbidden; as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-'Ankabut 29:45] , so there is no religion without prayer; therefore, it was mentioned in the hadith: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 35:102 The status of prayer is great, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to be negligent with it. Whoever abandons it has committed disbelief, as indicated by the hadiths and Quranic verses, whether he denies its obligation or is lazy in performing it while acknowledging its obligation. And according to the correct view, he commits disbelief
by abandoning it; because he has not established his religion and has not preserved his prayer. But whoever repents to Allah the Mighty and Majestic with a sincere repentance and preserves his prayer for the rest of his life, then Allah will accept his repentance; because repentance wipes out what came before it. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:[Maryam 19:59-60] , so repentance wipes out what came before it if it is a sincere repentance. It is not required of the one who abandoned prayer in the past to make up the prayers that were missed; rather, it is required of him to preserve his prayer for the remainder of his life until Allah takes his soul; because during the period of his abandonment, he was not upon the religion. So when he repents to Allah the Exalted, he enters Islam anew, and he preserves his prayer for the future, and Allah will accept his repentance if Allah wills.
A341: Prayer is the most emphatic of the pillars of Islam after the two testimonies, and it is the second pillar of Islam after the two testimonies. There are verses and authentic hadiths that emphasize its importance, urge its preservation, and warn those who neglect it and those who waste it, indicating the importance of prayer and its status in Islam; because it is the pillar of Islam, and because whoever preserves it will, a fortiori, preserve the rest of his religion, and will avoid what Allah has forbidden; as Allah the Exalted said:
and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.
وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَThe first thing you will be stripped of from your religion is trustworthiness, and the last thing you will lose from it is prayer.
أول ما تسلبون من دينكم الأمانة، وآخر ما تفقدون منه الصلاةby abandoning it; because he has not established his religion and has not preserved his prayer. But whoever repents to Allah the Mighty and Majestic with a sincere repentance and preserves his prayer for the rest of his life, then Allah will accept his repentance; because repentance wipes out what came before it. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:
(59) But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil - (60) Except those who repent, believe and do righteousness; for those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged at all.
فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلاَةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا (59) إِلاَّ مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.