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1 | She stopped praying when she was sick, then she died; do her heirs have to do anything? | Question
My mother died, and she owed two months’ prayers because of cancer; she was intending to make them up. She also owes the fast of the Ramadan before the last, when she was healthy. My question is: what is the correct action with regard to her acts of worship? Please note that I have sisters; can we cooperate to make up these acts of worship (on her behalf)? Will the reward of Hajj reach her (if it is done on her behalf), because she did not do Hajj? | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
Prayer is one of the greatest pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith). What the Muslim must do is always offer the prayers regularly and on time; this duty is not waived so long as he is of sound mind.
For more information, please see the answer to question no. 95220.
Secondly:
You did not say whether your mother had become unconscious and thus was not aware of anything, or not. However it appears from your question that she was of sound mind at the time of her illness, based on the fact that she intended to make up those prayers. In general, the one who does not pray in the case of illness must come under one of the following two scenarios:
1.He stopped praying when he was sick because he had lost his mind or lost consciousness. In this case he does not have to do anything, in sha Allah, and he is not obliged to make up the prayers when he recovers after that.
2.He stopped praying when he was sick but was still of sound mind; but he stopped praying because he thought that prayer was not obligatory for him in that situation. In this case, perhaps Allah will pardon him because of his ignorance, although what the individual is required to do is to learn what he must know of his religion.
In either case, the prayers are not to be made up on his behalf if he dies after that.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (25/257):
If your father was unconscious at the time of his illness and did not understand anything, then the obligation of prayer was waived in his case, and he is not accountable when he is in this state. The condition of being accountable for prayer is that the individual should be of sound mind (and not unconscious), and that was not the case here. But if he was not unconscious and was of sound mind, but he did not pray because he was unaware that it is obligatory for people in his situation to pray according to what they are able to do, then perhaps Allah will pardon him and excuse him because he was unaware of that, and because there was no one who could explain the shar‘i ruling to him before he died – may Allah have mercy on him and forgive him. In either case, it is not permissible for you to offer any of the prayers on your father’s behalf, because one cannot pray on behalf of anyone else. The basic ruling is that prayer cannot be delegated to another person. End quote.
Thirdly:
With regard to making up the fasts, if she did not make them up with no excuse, then it is mustahabb for you to fast on her behalf, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1952) and Muslim (1935) from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If anyone dies still owing fasts, let his heir fast on his behalf.”
For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 130283 and 130647
It is permissible for making up of the fasts on behalf of the deceased to be done by one heir for all of the days, or it may be done by a number of heirs.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Question: If we follow the more correct opinion, which is that fasting includes that which is obligatory because of basic Islamic teachings and that which is obligatory because of a vow (nadhr), does that mean that this (making up the fasts of behalf of the deceased) is to be done by one of the heirs only, because fasting was obligatory upon one person only?
Answer: It does not mean that, because the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “let his heir fast on his behalf” include all the heirs. So if we assume that a man has fifteen sons, and each of them wants to fast two out of thirty days, that is acceptable. If there are thirty heirs and each of them fasts one day, that is acceptable, because they will have fasted thirty days. It makes no difference whether they fast on one day, or one fasts on one day, then the second one fasts on the next day, (and so on) until they have completed thirty days.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (6/452)
Fourthly:
If a person performs Hajj or ‘Umrah on behalf of his parents, and he has performed Hajj on his own behalf before that, then the reward of that Hajj or ‘Umrah will reach his parents, and that action on the part of the son will be a kind of honouring and kindness towards his parents.
Muslim (1939) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah that his father (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whilst I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a woman came to him and said: I gave a slave woman in charity to my mother, who has now died. He said: “Your reward is due; you may take (the slave woman) back by virtue of your inheritance.” She said: O Messenger of Allah, she owes one month’s fast; can I fast on her behalf? He said: “Fast on her behalf.” She said: She never did Hajj; can I do Hajj on her behalf? He said: “Do Hajj on her behalf.”
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (25/257): With regard to your doing Hajj and ‘umrah on behalf of your father, that is part of honouring him and showing kindness to him. And if you give charity on his behalf from time to time, and you offer supplication for him, pray for forgiveness for him, uphold ties of kinship with his relatives, and treat his friends kindly, then that is a way of honouring your father after his death, and you will have a great reward, in sha Allah, for whatever you spend for that purpose. End quote.
For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 763 and 104606
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/145290/she-stopped-praying-when-she-was-sick-then-she-died-do-her-heirs-have-to-do-anything | 77 | 145,290 |
2 | Will All Muslims Go to Jannah? | Question
Will all the Muslims, including the hypocrites, those who did not pray and those who committed Shirk, enter Paradise after spending some time in Hell? | Praise be to Allah.Who will go to Jannah and who will go to Hell?
We should understand properly the general principle concerning this matter, the matter of entering Paradise and spending eternity in Hell. It is a simple matter that is explained in a brief Hadith that was narrated by Muslim (135) from Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: A man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, what are the two deeds that make entering Paradise or Hell inevitable?
He (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies not associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise , and whoever dies associating anything with Allah will enter Hell.”
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to the words, “What are the two deeds that make entering Paradise or Hell inevitable?” what is meant are the characteristics that make Paradise inevitable and the characteristics that make Hell inevitable.”
This Hadith explains that what makes it inevitable that a person will enter Paradise is if he dies believing in Tawhid , and what makes it inevitable that a person will spend eternity in Hell is if he dies believing in Shirk.
This is a definitive principle that is well-known and well established in the religion of Islam. There are Mutawatir texts which confirm and affirm it. Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin” [An-Nisa’ 4:48]
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained, in the Hadith about intercession, the situation of the sinners in Hell, and he explained that no one will be brought out of Hell except those who died believing in Tawhid and uttered the Shahadah (Testimony of Faith), and had in their hearts something of faith: “There will be brought out of the Fire anyone who said, La ilaha ill-Allah (there is none worthy of worship but Allah) and had in his heart goodness equal to the weight of a grain of barley. Then there will be brought out of the Fire anyone who said La ilaha ill-Allah (there is none worthy of worship but Allah) and had in his heart goodness equal to the weight of a grain of wheat. Then there will be brought out of the Fire anyone who said La ilaha ill-Allah (there is none worthy of worship but Allah) and had in his heart goodness equal to the weight of a small ant.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 6861 and Muslim, 285)
Based on that, we can find out the situation of those mentioned in the question.
Will those who died upon Shirk go to Jannah?
If a person fell into major Shirk, whether he was originally a Mushrik like the Jews, Christians, Buddhists and other types of disbelievers, or he was a Muslim then he apostatised from Islam by falling into major Shirk – as mentioned in the question – then his claim to belong to Islam or his having a Muslim name will be of no benefit to him, and neither will any good deeds that he did and so on, if he fell into major Shirk and died in that state without having repented. Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad), as it was to those (Allah’s Messengers) before you: ‘If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.’ Nay! But worship Allah (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful.” [Az-Zumar 39:65-66]
Will those who do not pray go to Jannah?
The one who does not pray at all , either in his house or in the mosque, and does not attend Jumu`ah or prayers in congregation, has also rendered his good deeds invalid and has fallen into disbelief by not praying at all. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them – i.e., the characteristic that separates the Muslims from the disbelievers – is the prayer. Whoever does not pray has disbelieved.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, 2545 and An-Nasa’i, 459. Classed as authentic by Al-Albani)
For more information on the disbelief of the one who does not pray, please see the answer to question no. 5208
Will the hypocrites go to Jannah?
With regard to the hypocrites, if what is meant is the people of major hypocrisy , namely those who make a show of being believers in this world when they are concealing disbelief in their hearts and hiding it from the people, they will be in a worse position than the disbelievers and the polytheists. Hence their fate will be in the lowest levels of Hell, as Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them.” [An-Nisa’ 4:145]
Will those who tell lies or break their promises go to Jannah?
those who fall into some acts of hypocrisy, such as lying or betraying a trust or breaking a promise ; or fall into some kind of minor shirk, such as showing off or swearing by something other than Allah; or who fall into some major or minor sin – such a person does not become a disbeliever just by doing that thing. It does not put him beyond the pale of Islam and he will not spend eternity in Hell because of it, if he dies believing in Tawhid . Rather his case is up to Allah: if He wills He will punish him for his sin, then admit him to Paradise because of his belief in Tawhid, or He will bestow His grace upon him from the outset and admit him into Paradise and forgive him for the sins that he committed. Al-Bukhari (6933) and Muslim (1659) narrated that Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibril appeared to me at the side of the harrah and said: ‘Give your Ummah the glad tidings that whoever dies not associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise.’ I said: ‘O Jibril, even if he steals and even if commits Zina?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Even if he steals and even if commits Zina?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Even if he steals and even if he commits Zina?’ He said: ‘Yes, and even if he drinks alcohol.’”
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/147996/will-all-muslims-go-to-jannah | 77 | 147,996 |
3 | Those who say that the one who does not pray is a kaafir and those who say that he is not a kaafir both claim that there is consensus on their point of view; how are we to understand the claim of consensus on both their parts? | Question
I have read the scholars’ opinions on the one who does not pray. Some of them say that he is a kaafir and an apostate, and some say that he is an evildoer (faasiq). The first group claims that there is consensus on this point. My question is: if there is consensus concerning this issue, then why did Abu Haneefah, Maalik and ash-Shaafa‘i not hear of it? Why did they not say that there was consensus? In fact I have even heard that Imam Ahmad, in one of the reports narrated from him, agreed with the other three. I have also read that Imam ash-Shawkaani stated that the consensus of the salaf (early generations) was that the one who does not pray is not a kaafir. So where did the first group get the claim that there is consensus on this issue? Why was this consensus unknown to all those scholars who disagreed with them? | Praise be to Allah.If the one who does not pray does not do it because he denies that it is obligatory, even though he is aware that Allah has commanded that prayer be established, then he is a kaafir and an apostate according to the consensus of the ummah.
If a person does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory out of ignorance on his part that it is obligatory, such as one who is new in Islam, he is not deemed to be a kaafir, but he is to be taught and instructed to pray.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Muslims are unanimously agreed that the one who denies that prayer is obligatory is a kaafir who is to be executed if he does not repent from that kufr. However they differed concerning the one who affirms that it is obligatory but deliberately does not do it even though he is able to.
End quote from al-Istidhkaar, 2/149
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The one who does not pray must either deny that it is obligatory or not deny that this is the case. If he denies that it is obligatory, he must be examined further. If he is unaware of that, then he is one of those who are ignorant of that, such as one who is new in Islam or who grew up in the wilderness. He is to be informed and taught that it is obligatory, and he is not to be deemed a disbeliever, because he is excused. If he is not one of those who were unaware of that, such as one of those who grew up among the Muslims in Muslim regions and cities, then he is not to be excused and his claim of having been ignorant is not to be accepted from him, and he is to be deemed a disbeliever, because the evidence for it being obligatory is clear from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and the Muslims offer the prayer constantly, so in this case it is basically obvious that it is obligatory, and he is only denying it because he disbelieves in Allah, may He be exalted, and in His Messenger and the consensus of the ummah. This person has become an apostate from Islam and is subject to the same ruling as all other apostates: he is to be asked to repent and to be executed if he does not repent. I do not know if any difference of opinion concerning this matter.
End quote from al-Mughni, 2/156
The one who does not pray out of heedlessness concerning it and out of a lack of regard for its importance is the one concerning whom the scholars differed. Some of them ruled that he is a disbeliever and others ruled that he is not a disbeliever; some ruled that he is a disbeliever if he does not pray at all, but if he prays sometimes and does not pray at other times, then he is not to be deemed a disbeliever.
It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (27/53-54):
The Maalikis and Shaafa‘is are of the view that the one who does not pray out of carelessness and laziness, not because he denies that it is obligatory, is to be executed as a hadd punishment, i.e., after death he comes under the same ruling as other Muslims, so he is to be washed (ghusl), the funeral prayer is to be offered for him and he is to be buried with the Muslims.
The Hanbalis are of the view that the one who does not pray out of laziness is to be advised to do it and he should be told: If you pray, all well and good, otherwise we will execute you. Then if he prays, all well and good, otherwise he must be executed. But he is not to be executed until he has been detained for three days and called at the time of every prayer. Then if he prays, all well and good, otherwise he is to be executed as a hadd punishment or, it was said, he is to be executed for his disbelief, which means that he is not to be washed, the funeral prayer is not to be offered for him, and he is not to be buried in the Muslim graveyard. However he is not to be enslaved and his family and children are not to be taken captive, like other apostates. End quote.
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What appears to me to be the case is that he does not become a disbeliever unless he does not pray altogether, i.e., he never prays; as for the one who prays sometimes, he is not a disbeliever.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 12/55
See also the answer to questions no. 5208 and 83165
More than one of the scholars have stated that there was consensus that the one who does not pray becomes a disbeliever. Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh said: This is the opinion of the scholars from the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) until our present time.
End quote from al-Istidhkaar, 2/150
They quoted as evidence the apparent meaning of the texts that described him as a disbeliever, and the words of ‘Abdullah ibn Shaqeeq al-‘Uqayli: The Companions of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not think that failing to do any action constituted disbelief except in the case of prayer.
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2622); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi
See also the answer to question no. 9400
Those who differed from them narrated that there was consensus that he does not become a disbeliever. They said:
That is the consensus of the Muslims. We do not know of anyone, during any period, among those who did not pray, who was not washed or the funeral prayer was not offered for him or he was not buried in the Muslim graveyard, or his heirs were prevented from inheriting from him or he was prevented from inheriting from his Muslim relatives, if they died, and there was no separation between spouses if one of them did not pray, even though there were many such people. If (the one who does not pray) was indeed a disbeliever, then all of these rulings would have been applied. We do not know of any difference of opinion among the Muslims concerning the fact that the one who does not pray is obliged to make them up; if he was an apostate, he would not be obliged to make up his prayers and fasts (after repenting). With regard to the hadeeths which say that he is a disbeliever, they are to be understood as highlighting the seriousness of failing to pray, and likening the one who does that to the disbelievers; they are not to be understood literally. This is like the hadeeth of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “Reviling a Muslim is evildoing and fighting him is disbelief (kufr)” and “The one who drinks alcohol is like one who worships an idol” and so on. What is meant in these hadeeths is to issue a stern warning.
See al-Mughni, 2/157
Such matters may be a case of ijtihaad on both sides. The first group thought that the words of ‘Abdullah ibn Shaqeeq quoted above appeared to mean that there was consensus among the Sahaabah that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever, therefore they narrated that there was consensus.
The other group thought that the actions of Muslims during all eras – namely washing the one who did not pray, offering the funeral prayer for him, burying him in the Muslim graveyard, and so on – were an indication of consensus among the Muslims that he (the one who does not pray) is not a disbeliever. And they thought that the hadeeths which appear to mean that he is a disbeliever were intended to highlight the seriousness of not praying and to warn against it. This includes the report of ‘Abdullah ibn Shaqeeq.
The matter is one concerning which there is a difference of opinion; as the scholars differed concerning the texts and the understanding thereof, they also differed concerning what seemed to indicate that there was consensus. It cannot be said that if one group quoted shar‘i texts as evidence, how can the other group have been unaware of those texts?, because the texts were not hidden from them, but they differed in their understanding of them and the rulings they pointed to. Something similar may be said with regard to the matter of consensus; those who said that the one who does not pray is not a disbeliever are not denying these hadeeths or rejecting the words of Ibn Shaqeeq quoted above, but they think that these texts – even though the word kufr (disbelief) was used to describe the one who does not pray – do not mean that he is a disbeliever in the sense of disbelief that puts him beyond the pale of Islam. Hence this issue is one of the issues in which there a difference of opinion is acceptable.
The first group narrated that there was consensus based on the apparent meaning of the texts, of which no one disputes the soundness, and on the words of Ibn Shaqeeq and Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, and so on.
The second group narrated that there was consensus on the basis of what they saw of the actions of the ummah in all times and places.
If either of these two groups had been convinced of the other’s claim that there was consensus, and had agreed that it was well-founded, then they would have gone along with them. But the problem in this case was that neither group accepted the claim of consensus of the other.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/194309/those-who-say-that-the-one-who-does-not-pray-is-a-kaafir-and-those-who-say-that-he-is-not-a-kaafir-both-claim-that-there-is-consensus-on-their-point-of-view-how-are-we-to-understand-the-claim-of-consensus-on-both-their-parts | 77 | 194,309 |
4 | She is pregnant and she did not pray for nine months, then she repented. What is the ruling on her marriage? | Question
You replied to my question by giving me a link to previous answer,but please i need more clarification if you could answer in person!
On the day my father took my permission to marry me to my husband i just started praying,not all the prayers but prayed a couple of salats,i knew that some scholars said if a women dosent pray at all nikah is invalid so thats why i prayed only a day before my nikah,the day after my permission was sought was my nikah day and i prayed fajr and zuhur on my nikah day,and after my nikah in the next couple days i prayed 2/3 prayers altogether,after that my period started and than became lazy may Allah forgive me and stopped praying for 9 months of our marriage,i was lying to my husband he use to think i prayed before and after we got married but alhamdulilah i have started praying again now,i also got pregnant 2 months after my nikah when i was not praying and am still pregnant now and praying alhamdulilah,does this have any effect,is my nikah valid? | Praise be to Allah.The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed as to whether the one who does not pray is a kaafir, if he does not deny that it is obligatory. Some of them – and this is the view of Imam Ahmad and a number of the early generations – said that he is a kaafir in the sense of kufr that puts one beyond the pale of Islam, and he is to be regarded as an apostate.
The majority of scholars said that he does not become a kaafir by not praying, so long as he does not deny that it is obligatory, but he should be asked to repent for three days; if he repents, all well and good, but if he does not, he is to be executed as a hadd punishment, not on the grounds that he has become a kaafir.
The more correct view is the former, which is that the one who does not pray is a kaafir. This is the view reflected in fatwas given on this website.
See also the answer to question no. 5208
Secondly:
If a person prays sometimes and not at other times, there is a difference of opinion among those who say that he is a kaafir in this case. Some of them say that he becomes a kaafir if he omits one obligatory prayer deliberately until the time for it is over. Others say that he does not become a kaafir unless he stops praying altogether. The latter is the view favored by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him). For more information, please see the answer to question no. 83165 .
Thirdly:
If you were praying before marriage, then the marriage contract is valid, and there is no problem with it.
If it so happened that you stopped praying altogether after marriage, for a period of nine months as you mentioned, then this is subject to the difference of scholarly opinion mentioned above concerning the ruling on one who does not pray. The opinion of the majority of scholars is that the one who does not pray is not deemed to be an apostate, so there is no problem, and the marriage remains valid, especially since you repented after that and adhered to praying regularly.
But according to the view of those who think that the one who does not pray becomes a kaafir and apostate, the marriage is not completely annulled because of that; rather the matter is to be left till the end of the ‘iddah. If the partner who became an apostate repents before the end of the ‘iddah, then the marriage remains as it was. But if the ‘iddah ends (without that partner having repented), then they are to be separated and the marriage is annulled.
Rather, Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] thinks that even after the end of the ‘iddah there is still an opportunity for the partners to go back to their previous marriage contract, if the one who became an apostate repents before the woman remarries.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If both or one of them becomes a kaafir after consummation of the marriage, the matter is to be left until the end of the ‘iddah and the marriage is not to be annulled yet. Rather we should wait until the ‘iddah ends. Then if they come back to Islam, the marriage remains valid. It says in ar-Rawd: If the one who became an apostate repents before (the ‘iddah) ends, then their marriage remains valid, otherwise the marriage is to be annulled from the time he apostatised.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] has the same opinion concerning this issue as is mentioned above about the first issue. He says: Before the end of the ‘iddah, the woman is not allowed to marry someone else; after the end of the ‘iddah she may marry someone else. But if she does not want to get married, in the hope that her husband may come back to Islam, then she is allowed that option.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 12/249. See also: al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 7/35
To sum up:
So long as you have repented and adhered to regular prayer, and you are still pregnant and have not yet given birth, then your marriage is valid and there is no problem with it, in sha Allah.
But what really matters here is that you learn a lesson from this, which is that prayer is too important to be ignored because of laziness or one’s own whims and desires. It is the most important physical act and is the most important thing that Allah demands of His slaves after their entering His religion.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/211897/she-is-pregnant-and-she-did-not-pray-for-nine-months-then-she-repented-what-is-the-ruling-on-her-marriage | 77 | 211,897 |
5 | Response concerning the hadeeth of ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit which appears to suggest that the one who does not pray does not become a disbeliever | Question
I read a fatwa on your website which says that the one who does not pray out of carelessness and laziness is an apostate, whereas I came across a hadeeth which appears to contradict what you said in your fatwa: “There are five prayers that Allah has enjoined. Whoever does wudoo’ properly for them and offers them on time, bowing properly and focusing with due humility, will have a promise from Allah that He will forgive him, and whoever does not do that will not have such a promise from Allah; if He wills He will forgive him and if He wills He will punish him.” Narrated by Maalik, Abu Dawood, an-Nasaa’i and Ibn Hibbaan; classed as saheeh by a number of imams (leading scholars). What we know is that Allah does not forgive the disbeliever, and the apostate is a disbeliever. So how are the words in this hadeeth, “if He wills He will forgive him and if He wills He will punish him” to be interpreted? | Praise be to Allah.
This hadeeth was narrated by Abu Dawood
(425) and Ahmad (22196) from ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit (may Allah be pleased
with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) say: “There are five prayers that Allah, may He be
exalted, has enjoined. Whoever does wudoo’ properly for them and offers them
on time, bowing properly and focusing with due humility, will have a promise
from Allah that He will forgive him, and whoever does not do that will not
have such a promise from Allah; if He wills He will forgive him and if He
wills He will punish him.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
Sunan Abi Dawood.
The words of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), “If Allah wills He will forgive him” are quoted
as evidence by those who think that the one who does not pray does not
become a disbeliever. They say: If the one who does not pray becomes a
disbeliever, he would not come under the divine will (as mentioned here).
But I respond to this argument as follows:
~1~
the words of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), “and whoever does not do that” refer to what
precedes them, i.e., the one who does not do the five daily prayers in the
manner mentioned above, namely offering them on time, bowing properly,
focusing with due humility and doing wudoo’ well. The one who does not do
that, by falling short with regard to any of the things mentioned above,
such as delaying the prayer until the time from it is over, or not focusing
with due humility or bowing properly and so on, is subject to the will of
Allah, may He be exalted.
Based on that, the one who is referred to
in the hadeeth is the one who prays, but he does not do the prayer
properly.
The hadeeth was also narrated in a version
which mentions praying regularly. Ibn Maajah (1403) narrated from Abu
Qataadah ibn Rib‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he said: “Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, said: ‘I have enjoined on your ummah five prayers and
I have made a covenant with Myself that whoever prays them regularly on
time, I will admit him to Paradise, and whoever does not pray them
regularly, has no such covenant with Me.’” Classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani
in Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah
have mercy on him) stated that praying regularly means doing the prayer on
time, as enjoined by Allah. Not praying regularly means doing the prayer
after the time for it has ended. This is what is meant by neglecting the
prayer in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning): “But then they were succeeded by generations who
neglected their prayers” [Maryam 19:59]. As for giving up the prayer,
that means not praying, either on time or after the time has ended.
Then he (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: Once the difference between the two matters is understood, the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) only described as being subject
to the divine will the one who does not pray regularly, not the one who
abandons prayer. Saying that they do not pray regularly implies that they
pray but they do not do so regularly; it does not include those who do not
pray regularly [This is how it appears in Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa. Perhaps
the correct version is: it does not include those who do not pray.] If it
did include them (those who do not pray on time), they would undoubtedly be
subject to execution as disbelievers and apostates.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa
(7/615)
~2~
It may be that the words of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “and whoever does not do that”
refer to the one who does not offer every prayer; rather he prays sometimes
and does not pray sometimes.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah
have mercy on him) said in ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (2/34):
There are hadeeths that appear to
contradict the hadeeths that indicate (that the one who does not pray) is a
disbeliever… That includes hadeeths that speak of the matter in ambiguous
terms, which should be interpreted in light of the texts that are
unambiguous, such as the hadeeth of ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit (may Allah be
pleased with him): “There are five prayers that Allah, may He be exalted,
has enjoined. Whoever does wudoo’ properly for them and offers them on time,
bowing properly and focusing with due humility, will have a promise from
Allah that He will forgive him, and whoever does not do that will not have
such a promise from Allah; if He wills He will forgive him and if He wills
He will punish him.” This may be understood as referring to the one who does
not do the prayers in the manner described, which is bowing and prostrating
properly and focusing with proper humility.
Or it may be understood as meaning that he
does not offer all the prayers; rather he prays sometimes and does not pray
sometimes.
Or it may be understood as meaning that he
does not do a single one of them; rather he neglects all of them.
If the hadeeth may be interpreted in all
these ways, then it is ambiguous, so it should be interpreted in a way that
is in accordance with the unambiguous texts. End quote.
For more information, please see the
answer to question no. 5208 and
2182
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/152359/response-concerning-the-hadeeth-of-ubaadah-ibn-as-saamit-which-appears-to-suggest-that-the-one-who-does-not-pray-does-not-become-a-disbeliever | 77 | 152,359 |
6 | He has repented from not praying or giving zakah; does he have to make them up? | Question
I am from a Muslim background, but I never used to offer the obligatory prayers and even when I tried to pray once, I did not do it right. In other words I did not prepare to do it in the proper manner. I ask Allah to forgive me. I heard that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever and is not a Muslim, but whoever offers the five daily prayers, or one or two of them and omits the rest, is regarded as a Muslim. Also, I did not pay zakah on my wealth, but for at least two years I have completed the fast of Ramadan, and I intend to continue doing so. I want to learn how to pray and make it part of my life, along with other acts of worship.
Is it obligatory for me to pay zakah for all these many years (when I did not pay it), and to make up the days that I did not fast at the time when I was not praying?
Please note that I have now reached the age of thirty-one years; perhaps you will understand that this may cause me a great deal of hardship; to ward off that hardship, can I start over? Will Allah forgive me if I do that? | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
We praise Allah for having blessed you with guidance and enabled you to repent sincerely from the state of shortcomings and negligence you had been in. We ask Allah to complete His blessing upon you and to make you steadfast in adhering to the straight path.
With regard to making up acts of worship that you did not do, such as prayer and fasting, there are two scholarly opinions. Some of the scholars think that it is obligatory to make them up; this is the view of the majority.
Some scholars do not think that the one who did not pray is obliged to make up the prayers that he missed, based on the view that he was a disbeliever (at the time when he was not praying), so when he repents he is in effect becoming Muslim, which erases all sins that came before it.
Other scholars do not think that the one who deliberately did not pray has to make up those prayers, regardless of whether it is said that he was a disbeliever at that time or not, because the text only speaks of the one who is excused because he fell asleep and missed the prayer or he forgot it.
The correct view on the issue of one who fails to fast or pray with no excuse is that he does not have to make up what he did not do; rather what he must do is repent, and pray and fast regularly from now on. It is mustahabb for him to do a lot of naafil (supererogatory) acts of worship, fasting and prayers, in the hope that Allah will accept his repentance.
Requiring the one who has repented to make up what he has missed makes it very hard to repent and puts people off it. But the one who repents must do a lot of righteous deeds, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)” [Ta-Ha 20:82].
See also the answer to question no. 91411
Secondly:
If we determine that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever, then in the case of one who does not give zakah as well as not praying, one of the following must apply:
1.Either he stopped praying before zakah became due from him. In this case, if he repents from not praying, then he does not have to make up the zakah that he did not pay, because one of the conditions of zakah being obligatory is that one should be a Muslim, but this person was not a Muslim at the time when zakah became due from him, so he does not have to make it up;
2.Or he stopped praying after zakah became due from him. In this case there is a difference of opinion among the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) as to whether he is obliged to make it up after repentance or not.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If he apostatized before one year had passed, and the year [for paying zakah] ended when he was still an apostate, then he does not have to pay zakah, because being Muslim is one of the conditions of zakah being obligatory. The fact that he was not Muslim for part of the year means that zakah is waived, because being Muslim is one of the conditions of zakah being obligatory, along with ownership and the nisaab (minimum threshold). If he comes back to Islam before the year has ended, the year (for zakah)starts anew, for the reasons we have mentioned. Ahmad said: If an apostate becomes Muslim again, and one year has passed since his wealth came into his possession, then it is his, and he does not have to pay zakah until one full year passes after he became a Muslim again, because he was not required to give zakah (when he was not a Muslim).
But if he apostatised after one year had passed, zakah is not waived in his case. This is the view of ash-Shaafa‘i. Abu Haneefah said: It is waived, because one of the conditions of zakah is having the intention (niyyah) to give it. So it is waived in the case of apostasy, just as prayer is also waived.
We say that it is what is due from wealth, so it is not waived in the case of apostasy, just as debts are not waived.
End quote from al-Mughni (2/348-349)
It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (23/234-235):
With regard to the apostate, if he apostatized after one year had passed since his wealth reached the nisaab (minimum threshold), then zakah is not waived according to the Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis, because it is something that is due from wealth, so it is not waived in the case of apostasy, just as debts are not waived. The ruler should take it from his wealth just as zakah is taken from the Muslim who withholds it. Then if he becomes Muslim again after that, he does not have to pay zakah again.
The Hanafis are of the view that in the case of apostasy, zakah on wealth owned by the apostate before he apostatised is waived, because one of its conditions is that one should have the intention (niyyah) of paying zakah at the time of giving it. The intention is an act of worship, but he is a disbeliever, so it does not count; therefore it is waived in the case of apostasy, just as prayer is also waived; this also applies on zakah on produce of the land.
But if he apostatised before one year had passed since his wealth reached the nisaab (minimum threshold), then it is not proven that he is obliged to pay it, according to the majority of Hanafis and Hanbalis; this is also one view among the Shaafa‘is. End quote.
To sum up with regard to zakah:
If he failed to pay any of it when he was still praying, and it was only because he was lazy or miserly, then he must pay what he did not pay of zakah at that time. The debt owed to Allah is more deserving of being paid off.
But if he did not pay zakah at the same time as he did not pray, then he must repent to Allah from that, give up this negligence, and start doing righteous deeds, in the hope that Allah may forgive him and expiate what he did in the past. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven. But if they return (thereto), then the examples of those (punished) before them have already preceded (as a warning)” [al-Anfaal 8:38].
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him), when he swore allegiance to him and pledged to follow Islam: “Do you not know that Islam erases whatever came before it.”
All of this applies if he stopped praying altogether. But if he used to pray sometimes and did not pray sometimes, then we have previously stated on our website that we favour the view that he is not to be regarded as a disbeliever in this case; as he was not a disbeliever, he is definitely obliged to pay what he failed to pay of zakah, because it is a debt that he owes, and this obligation cannot be discharged except by paying it.
This applies if he knows that he possessed wealth that reached the nisaab at that time and one (hijri) year had passed since acquiring it, but he did not pay zakah on it. But if he did not have any wealth, or he had wealth but it did not reach the nisaab, or it reached the nisaab but one year did not pass since then, then he is not obliged to pay zakah on any of it.
A similar case is if he is not sure whether he possessed the wealth or whether it reached the nisaab; the basic principle is that he does not owe anything.
With regard to prayer, there is a considerable difference of scholarly opinion in cases such as this. The view of the majority is also that he must make up what he missed, and undoubtedly this is more prudent and more likely to be on the safe side.
We ask Allah to help us and you to obey Him and to protect us from the evils of our own selves, for He is Munificent, Most Generous.
The following are some answers having to do with encouragement to offer the prayers and have patience in doing so. Please see questions no. 99139 and 47123
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/197247/he-has-repented-from-not-praying-or-giving-zakah-does-he-have-to-make-them-up | 77 | 197,247 |
7 | Her husband’s father does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory; how should she interact with him? | Question
I have received a marriage proposal from a religious man whose religious commitment and character are pleasing to me, buat his father does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory. But the problem is the family living arrangements, i.e., I would be living in the family home with his father. So how should I interact with him? Are there any guidelines on interacting with him, or would he be like any other mahram except that he does not pray? In other words: is it permissible to eat and drink with him and to uncover in front of him? Please note that I wear niqab. | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
The father mentioned in the question, who
does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory, is a kaafir
(disbeliever) in the sense of major kufr that puts him beyond the pale of
Islam; there is no difference of opinion concerning that among any of the
scholars. Such a thing can almost never be done except by stubborn atheists,
such as communists and secularists. Whoever denies anything of that which
was brought by the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
becomes a disbeliever thereby. If the matter has to do with prayer and other
pillars of Islam and its major fundamentals, then that is even worse,
because there is no excuse for the one who denies and rejects it, as it is
so well known and people grow up in Muslim countries knowing that and
respecting it, even those who do not do it. Hence no one would dare to deny
that it is obligatory and reject it except one who has gone to extremes in
disbelief and stubbornness – Allah forbid.
Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah – may Allah
have mercy on him) said:
The sin of the apostates is worse before
Allah, and in the eyes of His Messenger and the believers, than one who is
originally a disbeliever, in several ways. These people are definitely to be
executed so long as they do not come back to that which they have left; it
is not permissible to make any treaty or peace deal with them or to offer
them safety, or to free their prisoners or ransom them in exchange for money
or in a prisoner exchange; it is not permissible to eat meat slaughtered by
them, or to marry their women or to take them as slaves so long as they
remain apostates, according to scholarly consensus. Both their fighters and
those who are not fighters – such as old men, the blind and the chronically
ill – are to be executed, according to scholarly consensus; that also
applies to their women, according to the majority of scholars.
In the case of one who is originally a
disbeliever, it is permissible to enter into treaties with him and grant him
security; it is permissible to show kindness to him and to ransom him if he
is a prisoner, according to the majority of scholars. If he is one of the
People of the Book, it is permissible to offer them protection under Muslim
rule, and to eat their food and marry their women, and their women are not
to be fought and killed unless they take part in the fighting in word or in
deed, according to scholarly consensus. Similarly, none of them are to be
executed except those who are fighters, according to the majority of
scholars, as is indicated by the Sunnah. The disbeliever who is an apostate
is worse in terms of religion and worldly standing than the disbeliever who
remains a disbeliever.
End quote. Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa
(28/413-414)
Secondly:
If the father is as you described him, then
we do not advise you to agree to marry his son, unless he will provide you
with separate accommodation that is far away from this father. In fact that
is the basic and natural requirement: that you should get married and have
your own accommodation, separate from his family and your family.
The fact that the husband is staying in the
family home and living with this father as if nothing happened, and as if he
has not committed this grave action (of denying and forsaking prayer),
cannot be overlooked. Rather he should exhort him to fear Allah and rebuke
him for his disbelief and misguidance. Then if he persists in it, he should
leave him and avoid mixing with him, and he should protect his wife and
children from him, so long as he remains an apostate.
Please see also the answer to question no.
141680
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/150031/her-husbands-father-does-not-pray-because-he-denies-that-it-is-obligatory-how-should-she-interact-with-him | 77 | 150,031 |
8 | If the spouses were not praying at the time of the marriage contract, do they have to renew the marriage contract? | Question
If a man did the marriage contract at a time when he was not praying, and the husband and wife, the wife’s father, and the two witnesses also were not praying, and the one who did the marriage contract did not do it in the correct manner, rather he did it in a language other than Arabic and he did not recite the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith) or say the words of the marriage contract, what is the ruling on this marriage? Is this marriage regarded as legitimate or not? If they have repented from not praying and have begun to pray, should they do a new marriage contract, or is the old marriage contract regarded as Islamically acceptable? | Praise be to Allah.If the one who does not pray does not do so because he is denying that it is obligatory, then he is a kaafir according to scholarly consensus. But if he does not pray because he is heedless and lazy, then he is a kaafir according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. Please see the answer to questions no. 5208 and 2182.
If the husband and wife were not praying at the time of the marriage contract, then they repented and began to pray, then they remain married on the basis of the original marriage contract, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) ruled that people remained married on the basis of non-Muslim marriage contracts, and he did not instruct them to repeat the marriage contract after they became Muslim,. Also, the Sahaabah did not instruct those who came back to Islam after apostatising to renew their marriage contracts.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The marriage contracts of the kuffaar are valid and approved if they become Muslim … there is no need to examine the form of their marriage contracts or how they were done, and they are not subject to the same conditions as Muslim marriages, namely the presence of the wali (wife’s guardian) and witnesses, and the proposal and acceptance, and so on. There is no difference of opinion among the Muslims concerning this matter. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: The scholars are unanimously agreed that if the two spouses become Muslim together at the same time, they remain married on the basis of their original marriage contract, so long as they are not mahrams through blood ties or breastfeeding. Many people became Muslim at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as did their wives; their marriages were approved and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not ask them about the conditions of marriage or the nature of their marriage contract. This is something that is well-known from mutawaatir reports, so it is certain.
End quote from al-Mughni, 10/5
It says in Mataalib Ooli an-Nuha (5/13):
Note: if an apostate marries a kaafir apostate woman or the like, or an apostate woman marries a kaafir man, then both spouses become Muslim, what should be said in this case is that we accept their marriage, just as in the case of the harbi (non-Muslim whose people are in a state of war with the Muslims), if his marriage was not done properly, then they (he and his wife) become Muslim. The matter is the same. Apostates came back to Islam at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his successors (i.e., the Rightly Guided Caliphs) and they were not instructed to renew their marriage contracts. This is a good analogy, and was stated by Shaykh Taqiy ad-Deen (i.e., Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah). End quote.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked: I used to pray only rarely, and during that period of my life I got married. Now, praise be to Allah, I pray regularly and I have done Hajj and have repented to Allah, but I do not know what is the ruling on my marriage, is it valid or not? What should I do if it is not valid? Please note that I have five children from my wife.
They replied: If your wife was like you at the time of the marriage contract and did not pray, or she only prayed sometimes, then the marriage is valid and it does not have to be renewed, because you were equal in terms of the ruling having to do with not praying, which is (that the one who does not pray) is a kaafir. However, if the your at the time of the marriage contract prayed regularly, then what you must do is renew the marriage contract according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, if both of you still want to be married to the other. It is also essential to repent from not praying and to pray regularly in future.
With regard to the children who were born before the renewal of the marriage contract, they are legitimate and are to be attributed to their father because the marriage appeared to be valid.
We ask Allah to set your affairs straight and to guide you to all that is good. And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 18/290
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: But if both of them did not pray at the time of the marriage contract, then Allah guided them and they began to pray regularly, then the marriage contract is valid. This is similar to the case of disbelievers who become Muslim; their marriage contract does not need to be renewed if there is no shar‘i impediment to the continuation of the marriage, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct the disbelievers who became Muslim at the time of the conquest of Makkah and so on to renew their marriage contracts.
End quote from Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 10/291
Based on that, if the spouses have repented from not praying and they have started to pray, they do not need to repeat the marriage contract; rather their original marriage contract remains valid.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/118752/if-the-spouses-were-not-praying-at-the-time-of-the-marriage-contract-do-they-have-to-renew-the-marriage-contract | 77 | 118,752 |
9 | Ruling on one who offers an udhiyah but does not pray | Question
What is the ruling on one who offers an udhiyah but does not pray; is that right? | Praise be to Allah.
In the answers to questions no. 5208 and
9400 we stated that not praying constitutes kufr that puts one beyond the
pale of Islam. Based on that, any good deed done by one who does not pray
will not benefit him and will not be accepted from him.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah
preserve him) said:
With regard to fasting when one does not
pray, it is of no value or benefit, and it is not valid if one does not
pray. No matter what other acts of obedience a person may do, they will not
benefit him so long as he does not pray, because the one who does not pray
is a kaafir, and the good deeds of the kaafir are not accepted from him. So
there is no benefit in fasting if one does not pray. End quote.
Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan
(39/16)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:
If a person fasts but does not pray, no
fasting will be accepted from him, because he is a kaafir and an apostate,
and no zakaah, charity or any other righteous deeds will be accepted from
him, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And nothing prevents their
contributions from being accepted from them except that they disbelieved in
Allah and in His Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him)); and that they came not to As-Salat (the prayer) except in a lazy
state; and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly”
[at-Tawbah 9:54].
If their contributions – which refers to
benefitting others – are not accepted from the disbelievers, then it is more
appropriate that acts of worship, the benefit which is limited only to the
doer, should not be accepted either. Based on that, the one who fasts but
does not pray is a kaafir, Allah forbid, and his fasting is invalid.
Likewise, none of his righteous deeds will be accepted from him. End quote.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb
by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (124/32).
If the one who does not pray wants to
offer an udhiyah, then he has to repent to Allah, first of all, for not
praying. If he does not do that, and he persists in his ways, then he will
not be rewarded for that sacrifice and it will not be accepted from him. If
he does the slaughtering himself, then it comes under the heading of maytah
(“dead meat”, from an animal that was found dead) and it is not permissible
to eat from it, because meat slaughtered by an apostate comes under the
heading of maytah and is haraam.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:
If a man who does not pray slaughters an
animal, that meat cannot be eaten. Why? Because it is haraam. But if a Jew
or a Christian slaughters an animal, that meat is permissible for us to eat.
So the meat slaughtered by (the one who does not pray) – Allah forbid – is
more unclean than meat slaughtered by the Jews and Christians.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa
Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (12/45)
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/159645/ruling-on-one-who-offers-an-udhiyah-but-does-not-pray | 77 | 159,645 |
10 | Fard (obligatory) prayer takes precedence over nafl (supererogatory) prayer, carries more weight, and it is greater in reward | Question
In our country, some Ulamas says that if we don’t perform on rakat salah, we have to be in Jahannam for X number of years… I forgot what number of years they say but it is like several million years against one single rakat. Would you please let me know whether there is any hadith as such? Also let me know whether there is any hadith mentioning the weight of Fard salat, sunnat salat and nafal salat… as it is said that farad salat is more havier than sunnat salar and sunnat salat is more havier than nafal salat…? | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
Omitting the prayer is one of the gravest of major sins. Whoever omits a prayer deliberately – even a single obligatory prayer – has exposed himself to the wrath, anger and punishment of Allah. In fact, some scholars are of the view that the one who omits a single prayer, with no excuse, until the time for it has ended, is a disbeliever.
See questions no. 39818 and 47123.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is no difference of opinion among the Muslims that omitting an obligatory prayer deliberately is one of the worst and gravest of major sins. The sin of that is greater than the sin of murder or seizing wealth unlawfully, and greater than the sin of zina, theft or drinking alcohol. The one who does that is exposed to the punishment and wrath of Allah, and to disgrace in this world and the hereafter. End quote.
As-Salaah wa Ahkaam Taarikiha (p. 31).
Secondly:
We do not know of any hadith from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), or of any report from his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), that defines the extent or duration of the punishment in hell to which the one who does not pray exposes himself, whether he omits a single obligatory prayer or more than that.
The famous hadith that is well-known and often quoted by the common folk, which says that the one who omits a single prayer deliberately in this world and does not make it up will make it up on the floor of Hell, is baseless.
But it is essential to note that the one who omits a single obligatory prayer is committing a grave action and is exposing himself to severe punishment. According to some of the scholars he is a disbeliever who is beyond the pale of Islam, as stated above.
Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf, Mu‘aadh ibn Jabal, Abu Hurayrah and other Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) that whoever omits a single obligatory prayer deliberately, until the time for it has ended, is a disbeliever and apostate.
End quote from al-Muhalla (2/15).
The Permanent Committee, headed by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him), issued fatwas on this basis. Fataawa al-Lajnah (6/40, 50).
See the answers to questions no. 83165 and 210371.
So the Muslim should beware of being heedless with regard to the prayer, and he should fear the punishment of Allah, no matter how long or short it may last, for if a person owned everything in the world, and as much again, he would give it to ransom himself from the touch of the fire.
Muslim (2807) narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: The most affluent of the people in this world, of those who will go to Hell, will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and dipped once in the Fire. Then it will be said: O son of Adam, did you ever see anything good? Did you ever have any pleasure? He will say: No, by Allah, O Lord. Then the most destitute of the people in this world, of those who will enter Paradise, will be brought and dipped once in Paradise, and it will be said to him: O son of Adam, did you ever see anything bad? Did you ever experience any hardship? He will say: No, by Allah, O Lord. I never saw anything bad and I never experienced any hardship.”
Whoever is heedless about the issue of prayer, if Allah decrees punishment for him on the Day of Resurrection – Allah forbid – no one knows how long he will remain subject to that punishment except Allah.
Thirdly:
No specific person can be deemed to be in hell except on the basis of a shar‘i text. So it cannot be said of any specific person who did not pray that he is in hell because of his not praying, because he may have repented.
The things that may prevent the specific punishment from befalling the sinners among those who affirm the oneness of Allah are many; they may be ten or more, as was mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, and other scholars.
Rather what we must do is enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, advise the Muslims sincerely, and warn against heedlessness with regard to religious obligations, rituals and rulings.
Fourthly:
The obligatory prayer takes precedence over nafl (supererogatory) prayer. Nafl prayer is Sunnah prayer, and there are confirmed Sunnah prayers (Sunnah mu’akkadah) and Sunnah prayers which are not confirmed. The confirmed Sunnah prayers include the twelve regular (rawaatib) rak‘ahs, the prayer for rain (aalaat al-istisqaa’), Taraaweeh prayer, and the eclipse prayer (salaat al-khusoof).
Sunnah prayers which are not confirmed include four rak‘ahs before ‘Asr, two rak‘ahs before Maghrib, and two rak‘ahs after doing wudoo’.
The confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah mu’akkadah) prayers are of greater virtue, are more important, bring a greater reward and carry more weight than the unconfirmed Sunnah prayers.
All the Sunnah prayers are not obligatory, so one is not sinning by omitting them.
The obligatory (fard) prayer is compulsory, and the one who omits it is sinning. It is of greater virtue, more important, brings a greater reward and carries more weight than the Sunnah prayers, both confirmed and unconfirmed.
Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh (6502) that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Verily Allah says: ‘Whoever shows enmity to one who is close to Me, I shall be at war with him. My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask something of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.”
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is well-known that the reward for an obligatory prayer is greater than the reward for a nafl prayer, because Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, said [in the hadith qudsi quoted above]: “My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined upon him.” End quote.
Sharh an-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim (7/92).
Al-Haafiz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
From this it may be understood that performing obligatory religious duties is the dearest of deeds to Allah.
At-Toofi said: The command to do obligatory duties is definite, and failing to do them leads to punishment, unlike nafl deeds, even though in both cases there will be reward (for doing the deeds). However, the obligatory duties are of a higher standing, therefore they are dearer to Allah, may He be exalted, and bring one closer to Him.
Moreover, the obligatory duties are like the root and foundation, and the nafl deeds are like the branches and structure. Doing the obligatory duties in the manner enjoined is complying with the command and showing respect and veneration to the One Who issued the command, by submitting to Him, and is a demonstration of the greatness of the Lord and the humility of the slave; therefore drawing close to Allah by means of that is the greatest of deeds. End quote.
Fath al-Baari (11/343).
But the Muslim must strive hard to regularly offer the Sunnah prayers, because they will make up for any shortfall in the obligatory prayers.
At-Tirmidhi (413) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: The first of his deeds for which a person will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayer. If it is good, then he will have succeeded and prospered, but if it is lacking, then he will have lost and failed.
If anything is lacking from his obligatory prayer, the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, will say: Look and see, does My slave have any voluntary prayers, which could make up for what is lacking from his obligatory prayer? Then all of his deeds will be dealt with in a similar manner.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/286728/fard-obligatory-prayer-takes-precedence-over-nafl-supererogatory-prayer-carries-more-weight-and-it-is-greater-in-reward | 77 | 286,728 |
11 | Should one who does not pray be treated as an apostate? | Question
Should one who does not pray be treated as an apostate with regard to marriage, eating meat slaughtered by him, inheritance and so on? | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
The issue of the ruling on one who does not pray out of laziness and carelessness is one of the most well-known issues concerning which there is a difference of opinion among the scholars. There are two well-known scholarly views concerning this matter:
The first view is that he is Muslim, but he is an evildoer and sinner. This is the view of the majority of fuqaha.
Based on this view, the one who does not pray is to be treated as a Muslim who is an evildoer, in all matters.
The second view is that he is a disbeliever in the sense of major kufr [i.e., he is beyond the fold of Islam].
We have previously discussed this ruling in more than one answer on this website, quoting the evidence for it, and stating that we favour the view that he is a disbeliever if he completely abandons the salah (ie, never prays).
Nevertheless, this is one of the matters concerning which there is a considerable difference of opinion among the scholars, and there should be no blame on any scholar who favours either of these two views, so long as he has striven to work out the ruling (ijtihad), if he is one of those who are qualified to engage in ijtihad, or he is following a scholar of that calibre.
See the answers to questions no. 2182, 5208, 194309.
Secondly:
Based on what has been mentioned concerning the considerable difference of opinion as to whether the one who does not pray is a disbeliever or not, the issue of whether to treat him as an apostate is subject to further discussion:
-1-
If he is from a country where the well-known opinion, and the fatwas of the scholars whose fatwas are relied upon, state that the one who does not pray is Muslim but is a sinner, who is not beyond the fold of Islam, then he is to be treated according to the view of the scholars in his country.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If he grew up in a country where they do not think that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever, and this opinion is the best-known and prevalent opinion among them, then he is not to be deemed a disbeliever, because he is following the scholars in his country, just as he is not to be regarded as a sinner for doing a haraam deed that the scholars in his country do not think is haraam, because the duty of the ordinary Muslim is to follow [the scholars], as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know” [an-Nahl 16:43]. And Allah is the source of strength.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (2/138).
-2-
But if he is in a country where the well-known view of the scholars and their fatwas state that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever,
Then when it comes to matters having to do with the rights of others, such as annulling his marriage, preventing him from inheriting, cancelling his guardianship and so on, he is not to be treated as an apostate in such matters until after the shar‘i judge (qadi) has ruled that he is an apostate.
This is in accordance with the view of the Hanbalis, who say that the one who does not pray is not deemed to be a disbeliever until after the qadi has issued a ruling to that effect.
Ibn an-Najjar said:
Whoever does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory has disbelieved; in other words, he has become an apostate and the ruling concerning him is the same as the ruling on all those who apostatise from Islam.… The same ruling applies if he does not pray out of carelessness or laziness, but in this case the ruling is to be applied after the leader or his deputy has urged him to pray but he refuses to do so, until there is not enough time left to offer the prayer that is currently due. In that case he is to be executed, as was stated by Imam Ahmad, because he has disbelieved. This is the view favoured by the majority.
End quote from Ma‘oonah Ooli an-Nuha Sharh al-Muntaha (1/454).
Al-Mirdawi said:
The one who should urge him to pray is the leader or his deputy. If he omitted many prayers before being urged to pray, then he is not to be executed or deemed to be a disbeliever, according to the correct view. This is the view of the majority of our companions, and was stated definitively by many of them.
End quote from al-Insaf fi Ma‘rifat ar-Rajih min al-Khilaf (1/401).
With regard to personal matters, such as offering the funeral prayer for him and praying for mercy for him after he dies, eating meat slaughtered by him, and so on, in such matters each person should act according to what he believes and what he thinks is most likely to be correct regarding this matter.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/285977/should-one-who-does-not-pray-be-treated-as-an-apostate | 77 | 285,977 |
12 | When is a person regarded as neglecting prayer, and what is the ruling on him? | Question
Persons who are “not praying at all” are considered non-Muslims. Are those praying only during Eid’l Fitr, Eid’l Adha , and sometimes every Friday and / or sometimes during one of the five daily prayers fall in the term “not praying at all” hence they are considered as non-Muslims? How is “not praying at all” construed or interpreted?. | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
The one who neglects prayer is one who does not pray at all, and he is a kaafir regardless of whether that is due to laziness or denying that the prayer is obligatory, according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. This is based on a great deal of evidence, some of which has been mentioned in the answer to question no. 5208.
Secondly:
If a person is not omitting all prayers, rather he prays sometimes and does not pray sometimes, then those who say that the one who does not pray is a kaafir differed in this case. Some of them said that he is a kaafir if he deliberately does not offer an obligatory prayer until the time for it is over on one occasion; so the one who deliberately does not pray Fajr until the sun has risen becomes a kaafir, and the one who deliberately does not pray Zuhr until the sun sets becomes a kaafir, because Zuhr may be joined with ‘Asr, so the time for both is the same, when one has an excuse; and the same applies to Maghrib and ‘Isha’, the one who deliberately does not pray Maghrib until the time for ‘Isha’ ends becomes a kaafir.
Some of them say that he does not become a kaafir unless he fails to pray permanently.
Imam Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Ishaaq say: It was narrated in a saheeh report from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the one who does not pray is a kaafir. This was also the view of the scholars from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) until the present, that the one who deliberately does not pray with no excuse, until the time for the prayer ends, becomes a kaafir. Until the time ends means delaying Zuhr until sunset or delaying Maghrib until dawn comes.
The end of the time for prayer is described thus because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) joined two prayers in ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah, and when travelling, so he prayed one of them at the time of the other. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did the first prayer at the time of the second in one case, or the second at the time of the first in another case, the time for both became the same in cases where there is an excuse. Hence if a menstruating woman becomes pure before sunset, she is enjoined to pray both Zuhr and ‘Asr, and if she becomes pure at the end of the night she is enjoined to pray Maghrib and ‘Isha’. End quote from Ta’zeem Qadr al-Salaah (2/929).
Ibn Hazm (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We have narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him), Mu’aadh ibn Jabal, Ibn Mas’ood, a number of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them), and from Ibn al-Mubaarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh (may Allah have mercy on them)and from other Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them),a total of seventeen, that the one who deliberately and knowingly does not offer an obligatory prayer until the time for it has ended becomes a kaafir and apostate. This is the view of ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Maajishoon, the companion of Maalik, and of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Habeeb al-Andaloosi and others. End quote from al-Fasl fi’l-Milal wa’l-Ahwa’ wa’l-Nihal (3/128).
And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf, Mu’aadh ibn Jabal, Abu Hurayrah and others among the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) that the one who deliberately does not offer an obligatory prayer once, until the time for it has ended, is a kaafir and an apostate. End quote from al-Muhalla (2/15).
Fatwas based on this view have been issued by the Standing Committee, under the leadership of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him). Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/40, 50).
Among those who have issued fatwas stating that the one who does not pray is not a kaafir unless he stops praying altogether or permanently is Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him). He was asked about a person who prays sometimes and does not pray at other times. Is he a kaafir?
He replied: It seems to me that he is not a kaafir unless he does not pray at all. As for one who prays sometimes, he is not a kaafir because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Between a man and kufr and shirk there stands his giving up prayer.” He did not say “giving up a prayer” (tarku salaatin) rather he said “giving up [the] prayer” (tark al-salaah). This implies not praying altogether. Similarly he said: “The covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is a kaafir.” Based on that we say: The one who prays sometimes and does not pray sometimes is not a kaafir. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (12/55).
But he was asked about one who only prays Jumu’ah (Friday prayer) and he replied: He only prays Jumu’ah? Why does he only pray Jumu’ah?
The questioner said: That is his habit.
He replied: If it is his habit then he does not believe that his prayer is an act of worship. So he prays Jumu’ah out of habit and he gets dressed and makes himself look good and puts on perfume and goes. Even if I do not think that anyone is a kaafir except the one who does not pray at all, I would still have doubts about this man’s Islam, because he is taking Jumu’ah prayer as a special occasion only, and he dresses up and goes to meet people, when he is wearing perfume and dressed up. I doubt whether he is still Muslim. According to the opinion of our Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez he is a kaafir. End quote from Liqa’ al-Baab il-Maftooh.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/83165/when-is-a-person-regarded-as-neglecting-prayer-and-what-is-the-ruling-on-him | 77 | 83,165 |
13 | Is the Calamity of One Who Doesn’t Pray Greater than that of Iblis? | Question
Is it valid to say that the calamity of one who does not pray is greater than the calamity that befell Iblis, because Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam, and the one who does not pray has refused to prostrate to the Lord of Adam? | Praise be to Allah.The meaning of this phrase is not correct for several reasons:
When Iblis disobeyed by not prostrating to Adam , he was not disobeying the command of Adam (peace be upon him); rather he was disobeying the command of Allah, may He be exalted. Thus he was no less an evildoer than the one who disobeys the command of Allah, may He be exalted, to pray . Hence he became a disbeliever (kafir), because he did not prostrate.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.} [al-Baqarah 2:34]
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Prostrating to anyone other than Allah, if it is done in response to the command of Allah, is an act of worship, because Allah, may He be exalted, has the right to rule however He wills. Hence when Iblis refused to do that, he became one of the disbelievers.” (Tafsir Surat al-Baqarah, p. 126)
When Iblis disobeyed Allah, may He be exalted, that was accompanied by objection to the command of Allah, may He be exalted, and being too arrogant to obey Him. Undoubtedly this is worse and is more contrary to the veneration of Allah, may He be exalted, which is the foundation of faith.
As Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{[Allah] said, “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?” [Satan] said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” [Allah] said, “Descend from Paradise, for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased”.} [al-A'raf 7:12-13]
The disobedience of Iblis is worse, because the proof against him was greater. He saw of the might of Allah, may He be exalted, and the greatness of His authority that which the one who does not pray has not seen.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The severity of disbelief (kufr ) which leads to severity of punishment is due to three reasons…
The second of which is: deliberately going to extremes in stubbornness and misguidance despite being convinced, such as the disbelief of those who accepted in their hearts that the Messenger was true because of what they saw of the signs of his truthfulness, but they disbelieved out of stubbornness and resentment, such as the people of Thamud, the people of Pharaoh and the Jews who recognized the Messenger as they recognised their own sons, and the disbelief of Abu Jahl, Umayyah ibn Abi’s-Salt and their ilk.” (Tariq al-Hijratayn, 2/895)
It is clear from what we have mentioned in the answer that this is not to underestimate the issue of not praying, for the evidence of the Quran and Sunnah, and the consensus of the Sahabah, indicate that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever , and that he has no share of Islam. However, disbelief (kufr) is of varying levels, some of which are more serious than others, just as some types of evil are less grievous than others.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/354201/is-the-calamity-of-one-who-doesnt-pray-greater-than-that-of-iblis | 77 | 354,201 |
14 | Punishment for Apostasy in Islam | Question
I am happy to have found this website of yours. I was born a Muslim and I learned a lot of Islamic teachings after I reached adolescence. I am trying to understand my religion.
I have read in some of your answers on the issue of apostasy that the punishment for the apostate is to be put to death. But I have read on another website that the apostate who is to be put to death is the one who wages war on Islam (Muharib).
I am more inclined towards the second opinion.
The reason for that is that I have friends who were born in Muslim families and who have Muslim names, but some of them do not know how to do Wudu or how to pray, but they acknowledge the Shahadatayn.
Can we regard these people as apostates and thus put them to death? | Praise be to Allah.The Primacy of Quran and Sunnah in Islamic Rulings
The Muslim should not incline more towards one scholarly opinion rather than another just because it is in accordance with his whims and desires or his reasoning. Rather he has to accept the ruling based on evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. It is essential to put the texts and rulings of Shari`ah before all else.
What is apostasy?
Apostasy (Riddah) and going out of Islam are things that may be done in the heart, on the tongue or in one’s actions.
Forms of apostasy
Apostasy may take place in the heart, such as disbelieving in Allah, or believing that there is another creator alongside Allah, or hating Allah or His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Apostasy may take the form of words spoken on the tongue, such as defaming Allah or the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Or apostasy may take the form of outward physical actions, such as prostrating to an idol, mistreating the Mus-haf, or not praying.
The apostate (Murtadd) is worse than one who is a disbeliever in the first place.
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, refuting the pantheistic belief of the Batinis:
It is well known that the disbelieving Tatars are better than these (Batinis), because the latter are apostates from Islam, of the worst type of apostates. The apostate is worse than one who is a disbeliever in the first place in many aspects. (End quote from Majmu` Al-Fatawa, 1/193)
Circumstances That Excuse a Muslim from Being Declared a Disbeliever
Not every Muslim who falls into disbelief is a disbeliever and apostate. There are reasons why a Muslim may be excused and not judged to be a disbeliever, for example: ignorance, misunderstanding, being forced, and making mistakes.
With regard to the first, a man may be ignorant of the ruling of Allah, because he lives far from the Muslim lands, such as one who grows up in the desert or in a disbeliever land, or has only recently come to Islam. This may include many of those Muslims who live in societies where ignorance prevails and knowledge is scarce. These are the ones concerning whom the questioner is confused as to whether they are to be judged as disbelievers and executed.
The second reason is if a person interprets the ruling of Allah in a manner not intended by the Lawgiver, such as those who blindly follow the people of Bid`ah (innovation) in their misinterpretations, such as the Murji’ah, Mu`tazilah, Khawarij and the like.
The third reason is if an oppressor overwhelms a Muslim and will not let him go until he makes a blatant statement of disbelief out loud in order to ward off the torture, when his heart is at ease with faith.
The fourth is when words of disbelief come to one’s lips without meaning it.
Not everyone who is ignorant about Wudu and prayer can be excused, when he sees the Muslims establishing prayer and praying regularly, and he can read and hear the verses on prayer. What is preventing him from praying or from asking about how it is done and what its essential conditions are?
Punishment for Apostasy in Islam
The apostate is not to be put to death immediately after he falls into apostasy, especially if his apostasy happens because of some doubt that arose. Rather he should be asked to repent and he should be offered the opportunity to return to Islam and resolve his doubts, if he has any doubts. Then if he persists in his apostasy after that, he is to be put to death.
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Mughni (9/18):
The apostate should not be put to death until he has been asked to repent three times. This is the view of the majority of scholars, including `Umar, `Ali, `Ata’, An-Nakh`i, Malik, Ath-Thawri, Al-Awza`i, Is-haq and others. Because apostasy comes about because of doubt, and cannot be dispelled in an instant. Time should be allowed for the person to rethink the matter, and the best length of time is three days.End quote.
The authentic Sunnah indicates that it is essential to put the apostate to death.
Al-Bukhari (6922) narrated that Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever changes his religion, put him to death.”
Al-Bukhari (6484) and Muslim (1676) narrated that `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, except in one of three cases: a soul for a soul (i.e., in the case of murder); a previously-married person who commits adultery; and one who leaves his religion and separates from the main body of the Muslims.”
The general meaning of these Hadiths indicates that it is essential to put the apostate to death whether he is waging war on Islam (Muharib) or not.
The view that the apostate who is to be put to death is the one who is waging war on Islam (Muharib) only is contrary to these Hadith. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that the reason why he should be put to death is his apostasy, not his waging war against Islam.
Verbal vs. Physical War Against Islam: Which Is More Harmful?
Undoubtedly, some kinds of apostasy are more abhorrent than others, and the apostasy of one who wages war against Islam is more abhorrent than that of anyone else. Hence some of the scholars differentiated between them, and said that it is not essential to ask the Muharib to repent or to accept his repentance; rather he should be put to death even if he repents, whereas the repentance of one who is not a Muharib should be accepted and he should not be put to death.
This is the view favoured by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him).
He said:
Apostasy is of two types: ordinary apostasy and extreme apostasy, for which execution is prescribed. In both cases there is evidence that it is essential to execute the apostate, but the evidence indicating that the sentence of death may be waived if the person repents does not apply to both types of apostasy. Rather the evidence indicates that that is allowed only in the first case – i.e., ordinary apostasy – as will be clear to anyone who studies the evidence that speaks about accepting the repentance of the apostate. In the second type – i.e., extreme apostasy – the obligation to put the apostate to death still stands, and there is no text or scholarly consensus to indicate that the death sentence may be waived. The two cases are quite different and there is no comparison between them. It does not say in the Quran or Sunnah, or according to scholarly consensus, that everyone who apostatizes in word or deed may be spared the death sentence if he repents after he is captured and tried. Rather the Quran and Sunnah, and scholarly consensus, differentiate between the different kinds of apostates. (End quote from As-Sarim Al-Maslul, 3/696)
Al-Hallaj was one of the most well-known heretics who were put to death without being asked to repent. Al-Qadi `Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Maliki jurists of Baghdad at the time of Al-Muqtadir unanimously agreed that Al-Hallaj should be killed and crucified because of his claim to divinity and his belief in incarnation, and his saying “I am Al-Haqq [God],” even though he outwardly appeared to adhere to Shari`ah, and they did not accept his repentance. (End quote from Ash-Shifa bi Ta`rif Huquq Al-Mustafa, 2/1091)
Based on this, it is clear that what the questioner says about the apostate not being killed unless he is waging war on Islam is mistaken, and the differentiation that we have quoted from Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) may dispel any confusion and make the matter clearer.
Waging war against Islam is not limited only to fighting with weapons, rather it may be done verbally such as defaming Islam or the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or attacking the Quran, and so on. Waging verbal war against Islam may be worse than waging war against it with weapons in some cases.
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Muharabah (waging war against Islam) is of two types: physical and verbal. Waging war verbally against Islam may be worse than waging war physically – as stated above – hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to kill those who waged war against Islam verbally, whilst letting off some of those who waged war against Islam physically. This ruling is to be applied more strictly after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Mischief may be caused by physical action or by words, but the damage caused by words is many times greater than that caused by physical action; and the goodness achieved by words in reforming may be many times greater than that achieved by physical action. It is proven that waging war against Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) verbally is worse and the efforts on earth to undermine religion by verbal means is more effective. (End quote from As-Sarim Al-Maslul, 3/735)
The Ruling on Not Praying: Is It Apostasy?
With regard to not praying, the correct view is that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever and an apostate. See question no. 5208.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/14231/punishment-for-apostasy-in-islam | 77 | 14,231 |
15 | The virtue of one who regularly offers the five daily prayers and does them as enjoined | Question
How valid are the following hadiths from Kanz al-A‘maal, and should they be acted upon?
“Whoever comes with the five daily prayers on the Day of Resurrection, having maintained their wudoo’, offered them on time, done their rukoo‘ (bowing) and sujood (prostration), not omitting anything from them, will come having a promise from Allah that He will not punish him. And whoever comes with anything missing from them will not have a promise from Allah; if He wills He will have mercy on him, and if He wills he will punish him.” Narrated from ‘Aa’ishah.
“Whoever offers the five daily prayers, and completes them and establishes them, and prays them on time, will come on the Day of Resurrection with a promise from Allah that He will not punish him. Whoever does not pray them or establish them, will come on the Day of Resurrection with no promise from Allah; if He wills He will forgive him, and if He wills He will punish him.” Narrated from ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit.
“Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘My slave has a promise from Me, if he establishes prayer on time, that I will not punish him, and that I will admit him to paradise without reckoning.’” Narrated from ‘Aa’ishah. | Praise be to Allah.With regard to the hadith of ‘Ubaadah:
Abu Dawood (1420) and an-Nasaa’i (461) narrated that ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “There are five prayers that Allah has prescribed for His slaves. Whoever comes with them, not having missed any of them out of recognition of their importance, has a promise from Allah that He will admit him to Paradise. Whoever does not come with them does not have a promise from Allah; if He wills He will punish him, and if He wills He will admit him to Paradise.”
It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Another version was also narrated by Abu Dawood (425) and by Ahmad (22704), from ‘Ubaadah: “There are five prayers that Allah, may He be exalted, has enjoined. Whoever does wudoo’ properly for them, prays them on time, and bows and prostrates properly and prays with proper focus of mind and humility (khushoo‘) will have a promise from Allah that He will forgive him. Whoever does not do that will not have a promise from Allah; if He wills He will forgive him, and if He wills He will punish him.”
It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. It was also classed as saheeh by the commentators on al-Musnad.
With regard to the hadith of ‘Aa’ishah:
At-Tabaraani narrated in al-Awsat (4012) via ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Roomaan al-Iskandaraani, who said: ‘Eesaa ibn Waaqid told us, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr al-Laythi, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who said: “Whoever does not pray Witr has not prayed.” News of that reached ‘Aa’ishah, and she said: Who heard this from Abu’l-Qaasim (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)? By Allah, it was not so long ago, and I have not forgotten; rather Abu’l-Qaasim (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes with five daily prayers on the Day of Resurrection, having maintained wudoo’ for them, prayed them on time, and bowed and prostrated properly, without omitting anything from them, will come when he has a promise from Allah that He will not punish him. But whoever comes having omitted anything from them will have no promise from Allah; if He wills He will have mercy on him, and if He wills He will punish him.”
At-Tabaraani said, after quoting this report:
No one narrated it from Muhammad except ‘Eesaa, and ‘Abdullah was the only one who narrated it from them.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
I say: He is al-Ma‘aafiri. adh-Dhahabi said: He was regarded as da‘eef by more than one scholar; he narrated a false hadith.
I say: I think that he is referring to this hadith, because it is obviously false. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: ad-Daaraqutni classed him as waahin (flimsy). Ibn Yoonus said: He is da‘eef (weak) in hadith, and narrated munkar (odd) reports.
I say: I have not found any biography for his shaykh, ‘Eesaa ibn Waaqid. al-Haythami noted the same fault with this hadith in Majma‘ az-Zawaa’id (1/293).
End quote from Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth ad-Da‘eefah (11/371).
What is munkar (odd) in this hadith is the words “Whoever does not pray Witr has not prayed.”
As for the rest of the hadith, there are corroborating reports to support it, as we have seen with the hadith of ‘Ubaadah.
It is also supported by the report narrated by Ahmad (18345) from Hanzalah al-Kaatib, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever regularly offers the five daily prayers, with their bowing, prostration and wudoo’, offering them on time, and realises that they are truly prescribed by Allah, will enter Paradise” or “Paradise will be his due.”
The commentators on al-Musnad said: It is saheeh when its corroborating evidence is taken into account.
Abu Dawood (429) narrated that Abu’d-Dardaa’ said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There are five, whoever comes with them, whilst having faith, will enter Paradise: whoever regularly offers the five daily prayers, with their wudoo’, their bowing and prostration, offering them on time, and fasts Ramadan, and goes on Hajj to the House (the Ka‘bah), if he is able, and gives zakaah willingly, and renders back trusts.”
Al-Albaani classed it as hasan.
With regard to the hadith of ‘Aa’ishah, “My slave has a promise from Me, if he establishes prayer on time, that I will not punish him, and that I will admit him to paradise without reckoning,”
in Kanz al-‘Ummaal (7/312), al-Muttaqi an-Hindi (may Allah have mercy on him) attributed it to al-Haakim in his Taareekh.
[It was also narrated in] Taareekh Naysaboor by al-Haakim (may Allah have mercy on him), a great book, but it was among the books and writings of the Muslims that have been lost, and is not currently extant – as far as we know – except in the form of a summary made by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, who is known as al-Khaleefah an-Naysaboori, and this hadith is not found in that summary.
Al-Haakim is the only one who narrated this hadith in his Taareekh, pointing out that it is weak and not proven, especially the phrase “and that I will admit him to paradise without reckoning.” We could not find any corroborating evidence for that, and the saheeh report of ‘Ubaadah quoted above is sufficient.
See also the answer to question no. 152359 .
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/238527/the-virtue-of-one-who-regularly-offers-the-five-daily-prayers-and-does-them-as-enjoined | 77 | 238,527 |
16 | Can he do Hajj on behalf of someone who did not pray? | Question
If someone does hajj on behalf of another does it forgive all the sins of the other especially not performing Salat either he willed this Hajj or not?
Another thing: does Hajj removes all the sins of the performer (pilgrim) even not praying?. | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
The fact that you refer to “the sin of not praying” twice indicates that you think that not praying is a grave sin before Allaah, and this is indeed the case. The scholars differed concerning the level of kufr of the one who does not pray; the correct view is that he is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam. The evidence for that is as follows:
1 – It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allahibn Buraydah that his father said: The Messenger of Allah(peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him) said: “The covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is guilty of kufr.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2545; al-Nasaa’i, 459; Ibn Maajah, 1069. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2113.
2 – It was narrated that Abu Sufyaan said: I heard Jaabir say: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him) say: “Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.”
Narrated by Muslim, 116.
The Sahaabah are agreed that the one who does not pray is to be regarded as a kaafir, and this was the view of the scholars who came after them such as ‘Abd-Allahibn Shaqeeq, Ibraaheem al-Nakha’i, Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, ‘Abd-Allahibn al-Mubaarak, al-Hakam ibn ‘Uyaynah, and others.
Prayer is the first thing concerning which a person will be asked on the Day of Resurrection. If his prayer is sound then all his deeds will be sound, but if it is not good then none of his deeds will be good.
The one who does not pray will not benefit from any of his deeds, rather all his deeds will be in vain. Allahsays of the kuffaar (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust” [al-Furqaan 25:23]
“And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad), as it was to those (Allaah’s Messengers) before you: “If you join others in worship with Allaah, (then) surely, (all) your deeds will be in vain” [al-Zumar 39:65]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him) said: “Whoever fails to pray ‘Asr, all his deeds are in vain.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 553.
Based on this, if a person who does not pray performs Hajj, and he persists in not praying, then his Hajj is not valid and nothing will expiate for his sin of not praying. Similarly, if he dies whilst he is persisting in not praying, he will not benefit after death from any good deeds that are done on his behalf after he has passed away. It is not permissible for anyone who knows that he died whilst persisting in not praying to pray for forgiveness or mercy for him or to perform Hajj on his behalf, because he is a kaafir and mushrik, and Allahsays (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the Fire (because they died in a state of disbelief)” [al-Tawbah 9:113]
But if the one who does not pray repents and starts to pray regularly, and regrets what he did, and comes back to Islam, then Allahwill forgive him all his past sins.
Allahsays (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past will be forgiven” [al-Anfaal 8:39]
The phrase “if they cease” means, if they cease being disbelievers by submitting to Allahalone with no partner or associate. (Tafseer al-Sa’di)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Islam erases what came before it (i.e., of sins).”
(Narrated by Muslim, 121).
And Allahknows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/9400/can-he-do-hajj-on-behalf-of-someone-who-did-not-pray | 77 | 9,400 |
17 | Sometimes he feels too lazy to pray – what is the remedy? | Question
I am a young Muslim man who believes in Allaah and His Messengers and His Books, praise be to Allaah. But sometimes I feel too lazy to pray. I am looking for a solution and a way to make me not be so lazy. Please note that this is what I want but the tricks of the Shaytaan are too strong. | Praise be to Allah.If a person truly believes in Allaah, His Messengers and His Books, and believes that prayer is obligatory and is the greatest pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn, we cannot imagine that he would neglect to pray or be careless in performing the prayers. Rather he would never feel at ease unless he performs this important ritual regularly.
The more a person’s faith increases, the more he will be concerned to do that which Allaah has enjoined upon him, and this is also because of his strong faith. Hence the way to make you pray more regularly may be summed up as follows:
1 – You should believe firmly that prayer is obligatory and that it is the greatest pillar of Islam. You should realize that a stern warning is issued to the one who neglects prayer, and he is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, based on a great deal of evidence, such as the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Muslim, 82.
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives it up is a kaafir.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 463; Ibn Maajah, 1079; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
2 – You should understand that delaying prayer beyond the time when it is due is a major sin, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell”
[Maryam 19:59]
Ibn Mas’ood said concerning al-Ghayy [translated in the verse quoted above as Hell): This is a valley in Hell which is very deep and foul.
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So woe unto those performers of Salaah (prayers) (hypocrites),
5. Those who delay their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)”
[al-Maa’oon :4,5]
3 – You should strive to offer the prayers in congregation in the mosque, and not neglect any of them, knowing that praying in congregation in the mosque is obligatory according to the more sound of the two scholarly opinions, based on a great deal of evidence, such as the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not respond, his prayer is not valid unless he has an excuse.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 793; also by al-Daaraqutni and al-Haakim, who classed it as saheeh; also classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
Muslim (653) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: A blind man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, I do not have anyone to guide me to the mosque,” and he asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to give him a dispensation allowing him to pray in his home and he allowed him that, then when he turned away he called him back and said: “Can you hear the call to prayer?’ He said, “Yes.” He said: “Then answer it.”
And there is other evidence too. See question no. 40113.
4 – There is the hope that if you adhere to that, you will be included among the seven whom Allaah will shade with His shade (on the Day of Resurrection), among whom is “a young man who grew up worshipping his Lord” and “a man whose heart was attached to the mosque”. Al-Bukhaari, 660; Muslim, 1031.
5 – You will earn the great reward for prayer, especially prayer in congregation. In al-Saheehayn it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man’s prayer in congregation is twenty-five times better than his praying in his house or marketplace, because when he does wudoo’ and does it well, then goes out to the mosque, only going there to pray, he does not take a single step but he is raised in status and a sin is erased thereby. When he prays, the angels continue to send blessings upon him so long as he is still in the place where he prayed, (saying), ‘O Allaah, send blessings on him, O Allaah have mercy on him.’ And one of you is still in a state of prayer so long as he is waiting for the prayer.”
Al-Bukhaari, 647; Muslim, 649.
Muslim (232) narrated that ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever does wudoo’ for prayer and does wudoo’ well, then walks to (perform) the prescribed prayer, and offers the prayer with the people or with the congregation or in the mosque, Allaah will forgive him his sins.”
6 – You should read about the virtue of prayer, and the sin of those who are careless or too lazy to pray. We advise you in particular to read the book Al-Salaah, limadha (Prayer – why?) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Muqaddim; and listen to the lecture, “Limadha la tusalli (Why don’t you pray?) by Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Ya’qoob, as these will be very beneficial for you in sha Allaah.
7 – You should choose good friends who are keen to pray and pay attention to that, and keep away from those who are the opposite, because a person is influenced by his friends.
8 – Keep away from sin in all aspects of your life, and adhere to the rulings of sharee’ah in your dealings with others, especially with women, because sin is one of the things that most distract a person from doing acts of worship and increase the Shaytaan’s influence on him.
We ask Allaah to make us and you among His righteous slaves and those who are close to Him.
And Allaah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/47123/sometimes-he-feels-too-lazy-to-pray-what-is-the-remedy | 77 | 47,123 |
18 | Is it permissible for the wife of a man who does not pray to pay zakaat al-fitr on behalf of herself and her children? | Question
Will zakaat al-fitr be accepted from a man who does not pray? And is it permissible for his wife to give it without his knowledge on behalf of herself and her children?. | Praise be to Allah.
If the one who does not pray denies that prayer is
obligatory, then he is a kaafir according to scholarly consensus. If he
affirms that prayer is obligatory, but he does not pray out of laziness and
carelessness, then he is also a kaafir according to the correct scholarly
opinion, because of evidence that is well known, some of which has been
quoted in the answer to question number
2182.
Based on this opinion, the zakaah, fasting and Hajj of one
who does not pray is not valid, and it is not permissible for a Muslim woman
to allow him to be intimate with her until he repents and starts to pray.
The wife has to pay zakaat al-fitr of behalf of herself, and
if she pays it on behalf of her children that is fine.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Zakaat al-fitr is obligatory and like all other obligatory duties, each
person is obliged to do it for himself. So you, O man, are obliged to pay
zakaah on your own behalf, even if you have a father or brother. Similarly,
the wife is obliged to pay zakaah on her own behalf, even if she has a
husband. End quote.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
18/261
Based on this, you should pay zakaat al-fitr on your own behalf. As for the children, if they are young then you should pay it on
their behalf, and it does not matter if that is done without the father's
knowledge.
But if they are adults and have reached the age of majority,
they should pay it on their own behalf if they have wealth.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/65739/is-it-permissible-for-the-wife-of-a-man-who-does-not-pray-to-pay-zakaat-al-fitr-on-behalf-of-herself-and-her-children | 77 | 65,739 |
19 | How can he advise someone who is falling short with regard to prayer? | Question
How can I call someone to pray who, even though he knows that it is obligatory, does not do it sometimes? I would like you to tell me some simple phrases that have to do with this question, and some phrases that will warn of punishment and encourage seeking reward. | Praise be to Allah.You can remind this person and advise him by explaining the ruling on not praying, and on not praying in congregation in the mosque, and explain how the early generations of Muslims were with regard to prayer.
The ruling on not praying:
In a number of questions we have explained that the one who does not pray is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam; no good deeds will be accepted from him on the Day of Resurrection; and his marriage contract with his wife must be annulled if she does pray. This one who does not pray should also understand that any meat slaughtered by him cannot be eaten; and (if he dies) he cannot be washed, have the funeral prayer offered for him, or be buried in the Muslim graveyard.
It was narrated from Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentioned a dream that he had seen and said: “Last night two people came to me and said, ‘Let’s go,’ so I went with them. We came to a man who was lying down, with another man standing over him, holding a big rock. He threw the rock at the man’s head, smashing it. The rock rolled away, and the one who had thrown it followed it, and picked it up. By the time he came back to the man, his head had been restored to its former state. Then he (the one who had thrown the rock) did the same as he had done before. I said to (my two companions), ‘Subhaan Allaah! What is this?’ They said to me: Move on…”
At the end of the hadeeth, he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “They said to me: ‘The first man whom you saw with his head being smashed with the rock, is the man who learned the Qur’aan then abandoned it, and he went to sleep, neglecting the obligatory prayers.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6640
Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi said:
I heard Ishaaq – i.e., ibn Raahawayh – say: It was narrated in a saheeh report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that the one who does not pray is a kaafir. It was the opinion of the scholars from the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that the one who deliberately does not pray, without any excuse, until the time for the prayer ends, is a kaafir. The time for the prayer ending means delaying Zuhr until sunset and Maghrib until sunrise.
Ta‘zeem Qadr as-Salaah, 2/929
For the ruling on the one who does not pray, please see the answers to questions no. 7864, 5208 and 2182
With regard to praying in congregation in the mosque:
Just as the prayer is what differentiates between the Muslim and the kaafir, praying in congregation is the sign that differentiates between the believer and the hypocrite. The Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) regarded the one who did not attend prayer in congregation as a hypocrite whose hypocrisy was known.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
I am a young man, not married, and I pray but not continually, i.e., I do not always offer the prayer on time, and sometimes I miss the prayers for a whole day, or I do them all together. What is the Islamic ruling on that?
He replied:
The Muslim is required to offer the prayers regularly on time, with the congregation of Muslims. It is not permissible to delay the prayer until its time is over. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours” [an-Nisa’ 4:103], i.e., it is enjoined at specific times, at which it should be offered. According to a report: “Allah has deeds at night that He does not accept during the day, and deeds during the day that He does not accept at night.” Delaying the prayer until the time for it is over is neglecting it. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) (i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.) and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell, except those who repent…” [Maryam 19:59, 60].
Putting two prayers together is not permissible, unless there is a legitimate shar‘i excuse at the time of one of them, such as putting Zuhr together with ‘Asr, or Maghrib together with ‘Isha’. But putting the prayers of an entire day together is not permissible and prayers are not valid if done in this manner.
Al-Muntaqa min Fatawa al-Fawzaan, 5/56, 57
You will find the evidence for prayer in congregation being obligatory in the answer to question no. 8918.
With regard to how the early generations of Muslims were with regard to praying in congregation in the mosque:
They regarded it as something of the utmost importance, to which they paid a great deal of attention and were keen to offer the prayer in congregation in the mosque even if they had excuses not to do so.
Wakee‘ ibn al-Jarraah said, narrating from al-A‘mash Sulaymaan ibn Mahraan: al-A‘mash was nearly seventy years old but he never missed the first takbeer.
Muhammad ibn al-Mubaarak as-Soori said: If Sa‘eed ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez al-Tanookhi missed the prayer in congregation, he would weep.
It was narrated from Muhammad ibn Khafeef that he had a pain in his side that, when it affected him, prevented him from moving. But when the call to prayer was given, he would be carried on a man’s back. It was said to him: Why don’t you take it easy on yourself? He said: If you hear (the words of the adhaan), Hayya ‘ala as-salaah (come to prayer) and you do not see me in the row (of worshippers), then look for me in the graveyard.
‘Aamir ibn ‘Abdillah ibn az-Zubayr heard the mu’adhdhin when he was dying and he said: Hold my hand (and take me to the prayer). It was said: You are sick. He said: I can hear the caller of Allah; should I not respond to him? So they took him by the hand and he joined the imam in praying Maghrib; he prayed one rak‘ah then he died.
For more information see the answer to question no. 47123 – very important.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/50591/how-can-he-advise-someone-who-is-falling-short-with-regard-to-prayer | 77 | 50,591 |
20 | She forgot to do ghusl from janaabah until the sun set | Question
What is the ruling on a woman who forgot to purify herself from janaabah one day in Ramadaan? Please note that intercourse had taken place before the adhaan of Fajr, but she forgot to purify herself before Maghrib. | Praise be to Allah.If a fasting person becomes junub as a result of a wet dream or intercourse, he does not have to do anything, so long as that intercourse took place before the adhaan of Fajr. This is indicated by the fact that Fajr would come in Ramadaan when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was junub not as the result of a wet dream, and he would do ghusl and fast. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1926; Muslim, 1109, from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
Based on this, your fast on that day is still valid, but you should have hastened to do ghusl, because you have to pray, and the prayers must be done on time, it is not permissible to delay them.
Prayer is very important in Islam; it is more important that fasting or zakaah or Hajj or any other act of worship. Being lazy with regard to the prayer is a very serious matter, and some of the scholars were of the view that the one who misses a single prayer with no excuse and does not offer it before its time is over is a kaafir.
A warning is issued to the one who does not pray in the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not pray ‘Asr, his good deeds are cancelled out.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 553.
For more information and commentary on this hadeeth, see question no. 49698.
The lady who asked this question has to repent to Allah for not praying and for being lazy about praying on time. Allah accepts the repentance of those who repent, and He forgives those who return to Him.
For more information see question no. 21806.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/43307/she-forgot-to-do-ghusl-from-janaabah-until-the-sun-set | 77 | 43,307 |
21 | He does not pray for one or two days or more | Question
Sometimes the shaytaan tempts me and makes me do what is called masturbation, which leads me to stop praying for five days or two days or more or less according to the circumstances. What do I have to do? Do I have to repeat the obligatory prayers I missed? Or can I do naafil prayers to expiate for that?. | Praise be to Allah.You have to hasten to give up that bad habit, which is contrary to dignity and chivalry. In the answer to question number 329 we have quoted the evidence for it being haraam.
You also have to repent for missing the prayers, because not praying is a serious major sin; in fact many scholars say that it is kufr.
Repentance includes giving up the sin, regretting what one has done and resolving not to go back to that haraam deed.
Do a lot of naafil prayers, to make up for the prayers that you have missed, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The first deed for which the people will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be prayer. Our Lord will say to His angels, although He knows best: ‘Look at the prayer of My slave and see whether it is complete or lacking.’ If it is complete, it will be recorded for him as being complete, and if anything is lacking from it, He will say: ‘Look and see whether My slave has any involuntary (prayers to his credit).’ If he has involuntary (prayers to his credit), He will say: ‘Complete the obligatory prayers for My slave from his voluntary prayers.’ Then other deeds will be judged in the same manner” Narrated by Abu Dawood (864).
We ask Allah to forgive us, you and all the Muslims, and to grant us all well being and to make us all steadfast.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/90143/he-does-not-pray-for-one-or-two-days-or-more | 77 | 90,143 |
22 | A Christian woman is close to becoming Muslim and is married to a (Muslim) man who does not pray. What is the ruling on her marriage? | Question
There is a Christian woman who lives in Canada and is married to a Muslim man. She wanted to find out about Islam, and she has learned a lot at close hand and wanted to embrace it some day, but she was frustrated because she sees that her husband is careless about prayer, and the matter is so bad that he stopped praying a few months ago, until now. After he lost his job, he started to stay at home and his wife is the one who works and spends on household expenses. He just sits at the computer, talks to women and watches permissive movies on the net. To make matters worse, the wife found out about that by means of spy programs.
What advice can you offer them? Please note that scholars differ as to whether the one who does not pray is a kaafir. I hope that you can explain this issue to us according to both views. May Allaah bless you. And I hope that you could send us the answer in both Arabic and English. May Allaah reward you with good. | Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that the one who does not
pray because he denies that it is obligatory is a kaafir who is doomed to
remain eternally in the fire of Hell if he dies in that state, but they
differed concerning the one who does not pray, not because he denies that it
is obligatory, but because he is lazy and heedless. The majority of them
said that he should be asked to repent, and if he repents all well and good,
otherwise he is to be executed as a hadd punishment. Others said that he
should be given a disciplinary punishment (ta’zeer) and imprisoned until he
starts to pray. So there are three opinions concerning this issue:
The first opinion: that the one who does not pray is a
kaafir, without differentiating between the one who denies it and the one
who is lazy. This is the view of the Sahaabah, and no difference of opinion
is known among them. Among those who hold this view are: Imam Ahmad (may
Allaah have mercy on him) according to the more correct of the two opinions
narrated from him, Ibn al-Mubaarak, Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh and Mansoor
al-Faqeeh among the Shaafa’is. It was also narrated from Abu’l-Tayyib ibn
Salamah among the Shaafa’is.
The second opinion: that the one who does not pray because he
is lazy and heedless, not because he denies it, is one of the evildoers
among the Muslims, but he is not a kaafir. However, he should be asked to
repent -- although they differed concerning the time that should be allowed
for that -- then if he repents, all well and good, otherwise he is to be
executed as a hadd punishment! Like the married adulterer, but he should be
executed with the sword. This is the view of Maalik and his companions, and
it is the view of al-Shaafa’i and most of his companions.
The view that someone like this should be executed as a hadd
punishment is subject to further discussion. We have explained the error of
this opinion in the answer to question number
6035.
The third opinion: that the person who does not pray
deliberately, because he is lazy and heedless, although he acknowledges that
it is obligatory, is not a kaafir and should not be executed, rather he
should be given a disciplinary punishment (ta’zeer) and imprisoned until he
begins to pray.
This is the view of Imam Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy
on him) and his companions, and of a number of the people of Kufah, Sufyaan
al-Thawri, and of al-Mazani the companion of al-Shaafa’i, but it is the
weakest of the opinions.
Many practical rulings are based on the difference in opinion
on the ruling on one who does not pray, such as: whether he inherits,
inheritance from him, whether he is to be washed and buried in the Muslim
graveyard, whether the funeral prayer is to be offered for him, ruling on
meat slaughtered or hunted by him, whether his marriage remains valid and
other rulings.
For those who say that the one who does not pray is a kaafir
-- even if he does not deny it is obligatory -- all the rulings on apostates
apply to him. So he cannot inherit or be inherited from, he cannot be washed
(after he dies), he cannot be buried in the Muslim graveyard, the funeral
prayer cannot be offered for him, meat slaughtered by him is not halaal and
his marriage contract becomes invalid.
For those who ruled that he is not a kaafir, the rulings
mentioned above do not apply to him; rather he is regarded as an evildoer
among the Muslims and one who is committing a major sin, but the majority of
them say that he should be asked to repent, then if he does not pray, he is
to be executed as a hadd punishment! Similarly -- in their view -- if he is
married to a Christian or Jewish woman, then his marriage contract is deemed
to be valid, and is the marriage contract between a Muslim man and a woman
from the People of the Book.
The more correct of these two opinions is the first one,
because of the apparent meaning of the evidence from the Qur'aan and Sunnah,
and because of the consensus of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with
them) concerning that.
This is what was stated in fatwas by shaykhs such as:
Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem, ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen, the scholars of the Standing Committee and others, despite
the difference of opinion concerning the hadd punishment which the one who
does not pray is thought to deserve.
Based on that: the marriage contract between this man and
that woman is a marriage contract between an apostate and the Christian
woman -- if she is still following her religion -- and her situation is less
serious than his, because she is a woman of the People of the Book, whilst
he is an apostate from his religion.
See also the answers to questions number
2182,
5208,
33007 and
10094.
Secondly:
With regard to the woman asked about, if she has become
Muslim, it is not permissible for her to stay with a man who does not pray.
The ruling on that has been discussed above in detail.
But if she is still a nonbeliever, then their are no rulings
that have to do with her marriage to him, because they are both not Muslim.
Neither of them is Muslim so that the rulings of sharee’ah would apply to
their marriage.
We advise her to leave this man and marry a man who is really
a Muslim. Because he does not pray, he is not regarded as a Muslim, and the
evils and sins that he commits are not part of the Muslim’s attitude.
Moreover, as seems to be the case to us from the question, he is lacking in
chivalry and decency, because he agrees to his wife going out to work and
bearing the burden of earning a living, whilst he sits at home. By Allaah,
his attitude would be wrong even if he were staying home to read Qur'aan and
pray, whilst his wife goes out to work and support him, so what should we
say about him when he is staying home to commit sin and evil?
What we say to this wife is: O female slave of Allaah, do not
look at the religion on the basis of its people or on the basis of one of
them; rather look at what there is in it of truth, goodness, honesty and
righteousness. As for the people, if your husband is as you describe, then
among the Muslims there are people who adhere to its etiquette, rulings and
morals and manners apart from this man. There are still people, among both
Muslims and non-Muslims, who are sincere, righteous and decent, and there
are some who are not like that. But the attitude of the Muslim, if he still
follows his religion properly is more sublime and more righteous and purer
than the attitude of others. Think about it and you will find that this is
true. Remember that most of the Muslims around you are interested in worldly
gains and greed, and they have gone against the rulings of their religion
which forbid living in the lands of the kuffaar for the sake of worldly
gains and greed, so what kind of attitude do you expect from them? Very few
of them adhere to the commands of their religion, or they are living there
for a reason which makes that permissible.
O female slave of Allaah, hasten and do not delay; do not let
people and their attitudes be a barrier between you and light from your
Lord. Every soul is a pledge for that which it has earned, and people will
be called to account on the Day of Resurrection one by one, and no soul will
bear the burden of another: it will get what it deserves, good or bad. So
come to the light that you have seen, and beware of delaying, lest darkness
overwhelm you and the light of guidance disappear.
If there is something that is keeping you away from the
light, remove it from your eyes no matter what it is, and hasten towards
your Lord on His straight path.
And Allaah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/115985/a-christian-woman-is-close-to-becoming-muslim-and-is-married-to-a-muslim-man-who-does-not-pray-what-is-the-ruling-on-her-marriage | 77 | 115,985 |
23 | He fasts in Ramadaan then he does not pray after Ramadaan | Question
If a man is keen to fast in Ramadaan and to pray in Ramadaan only, but he gives up praying as soon as Ramadaan is over, is his fasting valid? | Praise be to Allah.Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam, and it is the most important pillar after the Shahaadatayn (twin testimony of faith). It is also an individual obligation. Whoever does not do it because he denies that it is obligatory or he does not do it because he is lazy and heedless, is a kaafir. As for those who fast in Ramadaan and pray only in Ramadaan, they are trying to deceive Allaah. How bad are those who only acknowledge Allaah in Ramadaan. Their fast is not valid if they only pray in Ramadaan, rather by doing this they are kaafirs who are guilty of major kufr, even if they do not deny that prayer is obligatory; this is according to the more correct of the two scholarly views. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is a kaafir.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad, 22428; al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 431; Ibn Maajah, 1079 – with a saheeh isnaad from Buraydah al-Aslami (may Allaah be pleased with him). And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The head of the matter is Islam, its foundation (or its pillar) is prayer and its pinnacle is jihad for the sake of Allaah.” Narrated by Imam al-Tirmidhi, 2616, with a saheeh isnaad from Mu’aadh ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him). And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and kufr and shirk there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh, 82, from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Ansaari (may Allaah be pleased with him). And there are many similar ahaadeeth.
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/12675/he-fasts-in-ramadaan-then-he-does-not-pray-after-ramadaan | 77 | 12,675 |
24 | A hadeeth for which there is no basis warning those who do not offer the five daily prayers | Question
I seen people posting on Internet(facebook) about reward of performing each salah which I have not read in Quran nor in any hadiths.
they post
'' REMINDER~♥:THOSE WHO DO NOT SAY THEIR PRAYERS OF:
-FAJR : The Glow of their face is taken away.
-ZUHR: The Blessing of their income is taken away.
-ASR : The Strength of their body is taken away.
-MAGHRIB : They are not benefited by their children.
-ISHA : The Peace of their sleep is taken away. ''
Would you please tell us whether this is correct or something invented from people. | Praise be to Allah.
This hadeeth does not appear in any of the books of Sunnah,
or any books of saheeh (sound) hadeeth or even books of da‘eef (weak)
hadeeths. This indicates that it has no basis and no isnaad. Rather some
people have fabricated it and spread it in chat rooms and on some websites,
thinking that they can scare some people and stop them giving up prayer.
They do not know that they have committed a great sin by doing this. Some
scholars even stated that the one who tells a lie about the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) deliberately is a kaafir.
Al-Ameer as-San‘aani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The majority are of the view that telling a lie deliberately
about Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is
a major sin, because the definition of a major sin is applicable in this
case, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentioned
one who tells a lie about him deliberately, and this case comes under the
category mentioned in the hadeeth of being deserving of punishment.
al-Juwayni said:
It – i.e. this major sin – constitutes kufr. This is
indicated by the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against
Allah or denies His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,
revelations, etc.)? Surely, the Mujrimoon (criminals, sinners, disbelievers
and polytheists) will never be successful!”
[Yoonus 10:17].
This verse describes telling a lie about Allah and denying
His signs as being equal, and there is no doubt that denying His signs
constitutes kufr. And telling a lie about the Messenger (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) is like telling a lie about Allah, may He be exalted.
From this verse, in which Allah denounces this action, we understand that it
is a sin and that there is no sin or wrongdoing greater than that. Al-Juawyni
said: and because the one who fabricates a lie about Allah or His Messenger
may do so in order to waive a well established ruling, and waiving a well
established ruling constitutes kufr, because it is rejecting what the
Lawgiver has ordained, which constitutes kufr. Moreover, fabricating lies
about sharee‘ah (and its rulings) is inevitably indicative of a lack of
respect for it. And Allah knows best.
End quote from Tawdeeh al-Afkaar, 2/88
The Standing Committee was asked about this hadeeth and
others, and they responded as follows:
These hadeeths cannot be attributed to any of the books of
Sunnah, and after researching the matter, we do not know of any basis for
them. So what must be done is prevention of their distribution and
publishing.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (vol. 2,
3/259)
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) was asked
about this hadeeth and he said:
This has no basis as far as I know and there is a strong
warning in the Qur’aan and the saheeh Sunnah concerning the one who forsakes
prayer, which is sufficient. For example, the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “What stands between a person and kufr is giving
up prayer” (narrated by Muslim). And the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is
the prayer; whoever gives it up has becomes a kaafir.” Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, 564.
And Allah says concerning the sinners: “ ‘What has caused
you to enter Hell?’ 43. They will say: ‘We were not of
those who used to offer their Salat (prayers)’” [al-Muddathhir 74:42-43].
The primary reason for which they were admitted to Hell is that they failed
to offer the prayer; abandoning the prayer constitutes kufr – Allah forbid –
and puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, whether he neglects it because
he denies that it is obligatory, or he neglects it even though he
acknowledges that it is obligatory, except in the case of one who forgets to
pray or falls asleep.
With regard to the message quoted by the questioner, I do not
know of any basis for it or for what is distributed in some publications,
“Whoever neglects the prayer will be punished with fifteen punishments.”
There is no basis for this.
End quote from Noor ‘ala ad-Darb, 20 Muharram 1427 AH
(0.17-0.19 on the tape)
So it is not permissible to publish this hadeeth or to
attribute it to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him);
rather what must be done is warning people about it and explaining that it
has no basis in the books of Ahl as-Sunnah.
Whoever would like to see saheeh hadeeths that warn against
abandoning or neglecting the prayer should read the book Saheeh at-Targheeb
wa’t-Tarheeb by Shaykh al-Albaani, 1/136-140
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/172024/a-hadeeth-for-which-there-is-no-basis-warning-those-who-do-not-offer-the-five-daily-prayers | 77 | 172,024 |
25 | His wife pretended to be religious before he married her, then she became heedless about prayer after marriage; should he divorce her? | Question
I live in UK, I married a sister in Muslim country, for her religiousness. But after marriage, I find that she is not as religious as she showed before the marriage. I only married her for her religion but not for her beauty or wealth or nobility. Now I feel disappointed marrying her as she is much lower in religiousness then what she showed and what I expected.
I am not sure what to do? My future plan was to make future children scholars of Islam (InshaAllah) but i feel she is not the right mother for it. I made my future plans clear to her before marriage. she doesnt like my beard after marriage, but she didn't complaint before marriage. She is persistently disobedient. one time i said if you don't obey then i will divorce you, then she started to obey for a while. I try to teach her Islam but not interested.
She refuses to pray fajar because she needs to have bath. So, I stopped having relation which makes bath obligatory.
We have been married for 2 months. Should I divorce her or be patient?. | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
There is no doubt that asking about the woman’s religious commitment is the first thing that the man should look at if he wants to get married, as the Prophet (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us. Moreover one of us can rule only on the basis of what appears to be the case, from asking about the woman and her family, and how she is before marriage. So he should not be content with what she shows or what he thinks from her outward appearance or from a few events. If he tries hard to check and ask, then it becomes clear that she is different from what he expected, this is the matter of the divine decree and has nothing to do with him, and in that case he needs to see the best way to deal with the situation.
The matter of religious commitment is a relative matter. When it comes to details, some people want the level of religious commitment that suits them, such as striving hard to offer naafil fasts, pray qiyaam al-layl, memorize the Holy Qur’aan or a specific portion of it, or have some shar‘i knowledge, etc. Others may vary in the level of religious commitment they seek.
In fact, examining this issue and the possibility of getting what you want is to be done before marriage. After marriage, however, there are two possible scenarios:
-1-
There is a certain level of religious commitment but it is less than expected or less than required. It is possible to accept this situation, even if it is less than we hoped for, if the level of commitment is limited to doing obligatory duties and staying away from haraam things.
If the woman adheres to that minimum obligatory level of performing duties and avoiding haraam things, then she will be fine, in sha Allah, so long as that includes obedience to her husband.
Imam Ahmad narrated (1573), in a report that was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, that ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If a woman offers her five (daily) prayers, fasts her month, guards her chastity and obeys her husband, it will be said to her: ‘Enter Paradise from whichever of the gates of Paradise you wish.’”
After that, the man and his wife can work together to do more good deeds and naafil acts of worship.
-2-
But the serious problem is if the shortcoming in doing acts of obedience reaches the level of omitting some obligatory duties or falling into haraam actions.
Imam Ahmad (6664) narrated, in a report that was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, that ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Every action starts with enthusiasm, then the enthusiasm wanes; anyone whose enthusiasm wanes but (remains within the limits of) my Sunnah will prosper, but anyone whose enthusiasm wanes and drifts away to something else, will be doomed.”
What this means is that there may be times when a person is very energetic and enthusiastic about worship and acts of obedience, then these energetic times are followed by a decrease in enthusiasm, laziness and a drop from the level previously reached. This is something natural and there is the hope that the individual will still prosper, but that is only if, during the times of decreased enthusiasm and weakness, he does not neglect the obligatory duties, because if he abandons them or takes them lightly, he will be doomed.
Doom is not caused by merely falling into sin, for we are all sinners; rather a person is doomed when sins appear in his general behaviour and that becomes his situation most of the time and he does not care or feel regret or repent; rather he persists in that sin and feels at ease with it.
Secondly:
It is clear from the way you described your wife that her decrease in enthusiasm and backtracking is of the type that is dangerous, and indeed is of the type that makes one doubt that she really was as religiously committed as she appeared to be. Even if she has grown lazy about some acts of worship, what does your beard have to do with her that she should feel annoyed by it?!
What you have to do now is not to show any compromise towards her situation. Being too lazy to get up for Fajr prayer is a major sin and serious offence. In fact it is kufr that puts one beyond the pale of Islam according to many of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). That was also stated in a fatwa by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him). So it is not permissible for you to approve of that. If ghusl is what is preventing her from getting up, then you should not let her go to sleep except in a state of purity, so that she will have no excuse.
We share your anxiety about your wife and we advise you to delay having children with her and to try again with her. If you see that she is praying regularly on time and is serious about it, including – first and foremost – Fajr prayer, and she is obeying you and fulfilling the rights that you have over her, then be patient with her for a while and see how things go. Try to discipline her and teach her, and be patient in putting up with her crookedness and weakness, in the hope that Allah may guide her and set her straight.
But if you find that she is persisting in neglecting the prayer or trying to interfere with your religious commitment and objecting to your beard, then there is nothing good for you in her and we advise you to leave her before having children from her, which would only make the problem more complicated.
See also the answer to question no. 141289 and 98624.
We ask Allah to guide you.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/147867/his-wife-pretended-to-be-religious-before-he-married-her-then-she-became-heedless-about-prayer-after-marriage-should-he-divorce-her | 77 | 147,867 |
26 | She is asking about the ruling on her husband who went to practitioners of magic and stopped praying | Question
My mother emotionally blackmailed me into marrying my first cousin 9 years ago when I was just 15 years old. i kept quiet out of fear and since then have been blessd with 3 beautifil boys alhamdulillaah. Since the last 2 years we have been problems and he went to see someone who plays with magic. As far as my limited knowledge is concerned that takes one out of the fold of islam. Also for a while he was neglecting his prayers and would only d pray sometimes anod do his jumah. But he has rpented since and prays 5 times a day alhamdulillaah. HE also said he didnt know what he was doin with regards to the magic as he was not in the right state of mindbut i dont know what to think as he said he diddnt know it was wrong amd kufr as he thought it would get us out of a difficult situation. He possesses no knowledge with regards to deen so my questions are:
1. Did the magic take him out of islam??, is it the same ruling for one who knows that its wrong and one who doesnt ?.
2. Also did the fact he neglected some of his prayers take him out of islambecause said he repented and started praying agai.n.
3.Also he left the house 3 months ago and before he left he said to my mum she is finished from me and me from her' does tha count as a talaq? As he wa angry and left the house. He is currently abroad and hasnt really provided for the kids or me. H left all our debts to me but he said he will contribute once i let him back in but i dont know what to do. i love my kids and would do anything for them.
I hope you can assist me in this matter soon as this has affected me and especiallymy 3 children who are all under the age of 8. It has left them distrssed and they want him back in the house. He has gone abroad for now and will be back iwthin a few weeks and i need this matter resolved soon inshaAllaah. | Praise be to Allah.Going to practitioners of magic, soothsayers and fortune-tellers is a major sin, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights.” Narrated by Muslim, 2230.
And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).”
The one who goes to a fortune teller or practitioner of magic and believes his claim to have knowledge of the unseen has gone out of Islam.
But if he goes to him but does not believe his claim to have knowledge of the unseen, then he has committed a major sin but he has not gone out of Islam by doing that.
If the man was ignorant and did not realise that going to practitioners of magic is haraam, then we hope that this is an excuse for him before Allah, may He be exalted. So there are no consequences for his going to them and he has not gone out of Islam by doing that.
But in the case of one who goes to a practitioner of magic knowing that that is haraam, this is the one who has committed a major sin that may reach the level of going out of Islam.
See also the answer to questions no. 112069 and 32863.
Secondly:
The ruling that the one who does not pray out of laziness becomes a kaafir is the subject of a great difference of opinion among the scholars and each point of view has evidence on which it relies. The fatwa adopted by this website suggests the most likely opinion to be correct is that which says that the one who does not pray is a kaafir; this is the view of many scholars.
This has been discussed previously in the answers to questions no. 10094 and 5208.
Who has blessed your husband and guided him to start praying and to pray regularly.
Thirdly:
If a man says concerning his wife, “she is finished from me and me from her”, this is a phrase that may be understood as referring to divorce or it may not. Hence it cannot be deemed to count as a divorce unless the husband aimed thereby to divorce her and that was his intention; if he did not intend to divorce her and did not aim to do that, then no divorce has taken place.
See also the answer to questions 98670, 85575 and 127280.
As your husband has come to his senses and has started to pray regularly and has repented from going to practitioners of magic in addition to the fact that he was unaware of the shar‘i ruling at that time, what you have to do is to turn over a new leaf with him. And we ask Allah to bestow His mercy upon you and to reconcile between your hearts and bring you back together.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/164414/she-is-asking-about-the-ruling-on-her-husband-who-went-to-practitioners-of-magic-and-stopped-praying | 77 | 164,414 |
27 | They lived under Communist rule and did not know anything about praying and fasting; do they have to make it up? | Question
I am a Muslim woman from Bulgaria. We were living under Communist rule and we did not know anything about Islam; in fact many acts of worship were banned. I did not know anything about Islam until I reached the age of twenty, and after that I began to adhere to the laws of Allah.
My question is: do I have to make up what I missed of prayer and fasting?. | Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
We praise Allah for saving you from unjust and oppressive communist rule after it suppressed the Muslims for more than forty years, during which mosques were destroyed and some were turned into museums, Islamic schools were abolished and they strove to change Muslim names and wipe out Muslim identity.
“but Allâh will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kâfirûn (disbelievers) hate (it)” [al-Tawbah 9:32 – interpretation of the meaning].
Communist rule, with its tyranny and oppression, ended in 1989, to the great joy of the Muslims, who went back to their ancient mosques, which they refurbished and renovated. They went back to teaching their children Qur’aan and the hijab of Muslim women appeared again in the streets. We ask Allah to bring the Muslims back to their religion in the best way and to support them and grant them victory and defeat their enemies.
Secondly:
A generation of Muslims grew up in Bulgaria under the oppression of Communist rule and they did not know anything about Islam apart from the fact that they were Muslims. The communist regime prevented them from learning Islam and even banned the import of the Holy Qur’aan and Islamic books into Bulgaria.
Those who did not know anything about the rulings of Islam and Islamic worship and other duties are not obliged to make up any of those acts of worship. If the Muslim was not able to acquire Islamic knowledge and the rulings of sharee‘ah did not reach him, then he is not obliged to do anything because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allâh burdens not a person beyond his scope”
[al-Baqarah 2:286].
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is no difference of opinion among the Muslims that if a person was living in dar al-kufr (non-Muslim lands) and he believed but he was unable to migrate (to a Muslim land), he is not obliged to observe Islamic rituals and laws that he is unable to; rather he is only obliged to do what he is able to. The same applies to matters concerning which he did not know the rulings. If he did not know that prayer was obligatory for him and he did not pray for a while, he does not have to make up those prayers according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and the literalists, and it is one of the two views of the madhhab of Ahmad.
The same applies to all the other duties such as fasting the month of Ramadan, paying zakaah, and so on.
If he did not know that alcohol is haraam and he drank it, then he is not to be subjected to the hadd punishment, according to Muslim consensus. They only differed with regard to whether he has to make up the prayers…
The basic issue with regard to all of this is: are the laws obligatory for one who did not know them or is it the case that no one is under any obligation until after he comes to know?
The correct view concerning this matter is that there is no obligation to adhere to a ruling unless there is the possibility of acquiring knowledge thereof, and nothing has to be made up if it was not known that it is obligatory. It is proven in al-Saheeh that some of the Sahaabah ate after dawn in Ramadan until they could tell the white thread apart from the black thread, but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct them to make up those fasts. Some of them used to remain in a state of janaabah (impurity following sexual activity or nocturnal emissions for which ghusl or full ablution is required) for a while and not pray; they did not know that it is permissible to pray with tayammum (dry ablution) – as happened to Abu Dharr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and ‘Ammaar. But the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct any of them to make up the prayers.
No doubt some Muslims in Makkah and in the wilderness continued to pray facing towards Jerusalem until news reached them that that had been abrogated (and the qiblah had been changed to the Ka‘bah), but they were not instructed to repeat those prayers. And there are many similar examples. This reflects the principle that the early generation and the majority of scholars followed, namely that Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. Things are only obligatory when one is able to do them, and the punishment only applies when one fails to do something that is enjoined or does something that is forbidden, after proof has been established. End quote.
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 19/225
Based on that, you do not have to make up any of the acts of worship that you did not know were obligatory.
Our advice to you is to focus on learning the rulings of Islam and gaining understanding of the religion; try hard to learn Islam and follow it, and teach the next generation of Muslims, so that they will be able to face the challenges that face all Muslims, and especially in your country.
We ask Allah to cause Islam and the Muslims to prevail.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/97501/they-lived-under-communist-rule-and-did-not-know-anything-about-praying-and-fasting-do-they-have-to-make-it-up | 77 | 97,501 |
28 | Is Fasting Without Praying Accepted? | Question
Is it permissible to fast without praying? | Praise be to Allah.Will good deeds be accepted from those who do not pray?
No good deeds will be accepted from one who does not pray – no zakah, no fasting, no Hajj or anything else.
Al-Bukhari (520) narrated that Buraydah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not pray ‘Asr, his good deeds will be annulled.”
What is meant by “his good deeds will be annulled” is that they will be rendered invalid and will be of no benefit to him. This hadith indicates that Allah will not accept any good deed from one who does not pray, so the one who does not pray will not benefit at all from his good deeds and no good deed of his will be taken up to Allah.
It seems from the hadith that there are two types of those who do not pray: those who do not pray at all, which annuls all their good deeds, and those who do not offer a particular prayer on a particular day, which annuls the good deeds of that day. So annulment of all good deeds happens to those who forsake all the prayers, and annulment of the good deeds of a particular day happens to the one who omits a particular prayer.
Does your fast count if you don't pray?
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin was asked in Fatawa al-Siyam (p. 87) about the ruling on the fasting of one who does not pray.
He replied:
“The fast of one who does not pray is not valid and is not accepted, because the one who does not pray is a disbeliever and an apostate . Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“But if they repent [by rejecting Shirk (polytheism) and accept Islamic Monotheism], perform As-Salah (Iqamat-as-Salah) and give Zakah, then they are your brethren in religion.” [al-Tawbah 9:11]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Between a man and shirk and disbelief stands his giving up prayer.” (Narrated by Muslim, 82) And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The covenant that separates us from them is prayer; whoever gives up prayer is a disbeliever.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi)
This is also the view of most of the Companions, if not their consensus. ‘Abd-Allah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him), who was one of the well-known Tabi’in, said: The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not think that omitting any action made a person a disbeliever, except for prayer. Based on this, if a person fasts but he does not pray, then his fast is rejected and not accepted, and it will not avail him anything before Allah on the Day of Resurrection. We say to him: Pray then fast, because if you fast but do not pray, then your fast will be rejected, because acts of worship are not accepted from a disbeliever.”
The Standing Committee (10/140) was asked: if a person is keen to fast in Ramadan and to pray in Ramadan only, but he stops praying as soon as Ramadan is over, does his fasting count?
They replied:
“Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam , and it is the most important pillar after the Shahadatayn. It is an individual obligation (fard ‘ayn), and whoever does not do it because he denies that it is obligatory, or he does not do it because he is careless and lazy, is a disbeliever. With regard to those who fast Ramadan and pray in Ramadan only, this is trying to cheat Allah, and unfortunate indeed are those who only acknowledge Allah in Ramadan. Their fasting is not valid if they do not pray at times other than Ramadan, rather this makes them disbelievers in the sense of major kufr (kufr akbar), even if they do not deny that prayer is obligatory, according to the more sound of the two scholarly opinions.”
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/49698/is-fasting-without-praying-accepted | 77 | 49,698 |
29 | He is mentally ill and does not pray or fast; what is the ruling? | Question
What is the ruling on a person who is psychotic bipolar and does not offer prayers, or fast? Whenever he is advised to do so he says that he is ill and Allah will forgive him but actually the person is not physically disable to offer prayer. Also, what about his sense of judgement? He thinks he is always right even though when sometimes he is not, and he thinks others are always wrong and he backbites them. | Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
We ask Allah to heal this sick person from this sickness that
he is suffering, and we ask Him, may He be glorified, to guide us and him to
the truth and the right path, for He is able to do that.
Secondly:
The conditions of accountability with regard to commands and
prohibitions are being an adult and being of sound mind. When a person
becomes an adult of sound mind, it becomes obligatory for him to do what is
enjoined of praying, fasting, giving zakaah, performing Hajj and other
obligatory duties, and he is also obliged to avoid things that are
prohibited.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (vol. 2,
6/370): Prayer is obligatory upon the individual and is not waived under any
circumstances so long as he is of sound mind, because the conditions of
accountability are being an adult and being of sound mind. The command to
pray is not waived because of loss of a limb or physical faculty, or because
of sickness, or similar problems, because of the general meaning of the
Qur’an and Sunnah, and scholarly consensus to that effect. But if a person
suffers some physical harm and is not able to do all the obligatory actions
and essential parts of the prayer, then he may pray according to what he is
able to do. End quote.
Based on that, if this mental illness does not affect the
person’s reasoning or consciousness, as appears to be the case in the
situation mentioned, then it is obligatory for him to pray and fast, because
he is still accountable.
But if he loses his mind sometimes, and is of sound mind
sometimes, then he is excused at the times when he loses his mind, but when
he comes back to his senses the excuse is no longer applicable, and he has
to offer the prayer that is currently due and make up the prayers that he
missed during the time when he lost his mind.
What you must do is advise this man and remind him of the
great importance of prayer and fasting, and tell him that the one who does
not do these duties without any excuse is in grave danger; in fact keeping
away from remembrance of Allah is one of the greatest causes of mental
illness, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither
believes in this Quran nor acts on its orders, etc.) verily, for him is a
life of hardship”
[Ta-Ha 20:124].
Allah, may He be glorified, also tells us of the means of
attaining peace of mind, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest”
[ar-Ra ‘d 13:28].
It should be noted that the individual is responsible for all
of his deeds before his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, so long as he
is aware of what he is saying or doing. His illness is not an excuse for him
to commit whatever sins he wants, such as neglecting the prayer, backbiting
and spreading malicious gossip. … The individual has no argument against his
Lord, may He be glorified and exalted; rather Allah has the perfect proof
and argument against all His creation.
We ask Allah to set the affairs of the Muslims straight and
to bring them back to Him.
And Allah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/193006/he-is-mentally-ill-and-does-not-pray-or-fast-what-is-the-ruling | 77 | 193,006 |
30 | Can we eat meat slaughtered by one who does not pray? | Question
I would like to ask what we should do if my brother does not pray, so he is regarded as a kaafir according to sharee’ah; can we eat meat that is slaughtered by him or not?. | Praise be to Allah.
What you have to do is to advise your brother to pray
regularly, and tell him of the ruling of Allaah concerning one who does not
pray. Do not let him slaughter the meat for you himself, and tell him the
reason why, which is that the one who does not pray is regarded as a kaafir,
so meat slaughtered by him is not halaal. Perhaps knowing the ruling will
have an effect on him, and he will come back to his religion and start to
pray regularly. This will be better for him in his religious and worldly
affairs, in this world and in the Hereafter.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him)
was asked:
Is it permissible to eat meat slaughtered by one who
deliberately does not pray, knowing that if he is told of that he will claim
that he says the Shahaadah? What should we do if we cannot find any butcher
who does pray?
He replied:
If a person does not pray, we should not eat meat slaughtered
by him. This is the correct view, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr
there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh from
Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Ansaari (may Allaah be pleased with him). And the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant
that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is a
kaafir.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad and the four authors of Sunan with a
saheeh isnaad from Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allaah be pleased with him).
And he said: “The head of the matter is Islam and its pillar is prayer.”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi with a saheeh isnaad from Mu’aadh ibn
Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him). If the pillar of a thing falls, it
cannot stand straight or remain; when the pillar falls, whatever rests on it
falls too.
Thus it is known that the one who does not pray has no
religion, so meat slaughtered by him cannot be eaten. If you are living in a
land where there are no Muslim butchers, you should laughter your own meat
and use your hands to do something that will be benefit to you, or look for
a Muslim butcher to slaughter meat for you even in his own house. Praise be
to Allaah, this is something easy so you should not be heedless about this
matter.
You should advise this man to fear Allaah and pray. His
suggestion that the Shahaadatayn is sufficient is a serious mistake, because
the Shahaadatayn come with conditions that must be fulfilled, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have been ordered
to fight the people until they bear witness that there is no god except
Allaah and that I am the Messenger of Allaah, and establish regular prayer
and pay zakaah. If they do that, then their blood and wealth are safe from
me, except in cases dictated by Islamic law, and their reckoning will be
with Allaah.” Saheeh – agreed upon.
So prayer and zakaah are mentioned alongside the
Shahaadatayn. According to another version: “I have been commanded to fight
the people until they say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and if they say Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah, then their blood and wealth are safe from me, except in cases
dictated by Islamic law, and their reckoning will be with Allaah.” Prayer is
one of these conditions and zakaah is one of these conditions.
What the believer must do is fear Allaah, and everyone who
claims to be a Muslim must fear Allaah and offer the five prayers regularly,
for prayer is the foundation of Islam and it is the greatest of the five
pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn. Whoever neglects it neglects his
religious commitment, and whoever does not pray has left the faith. We ask
Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
This is the truth and this is what is correct. Some of the
scholars said that such a person is not a kaafir in the sense of major kufr,
rather his kufr is minor kufr, and he is a sinner who has committed a grave
sin, one that is worse than adultery, worse than stealing, worse than
drinking alcohol. But he is not a kaafir in the sense of major kufr unless
he denies that prayer is obligatory. This is the view of a number of
scholars. But the correct view is that which is indicated by the words of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is that
such a person is a kaafir in the sense of major kufr, as stated in the
ahaadeeth quoted above, because he has neglected the pillar or foundation of
Islam which is prayer.
We should not take this matter lightly. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Shaqeeq al-‘Aqeeli, the great Taabi’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did not regard the omission of anything as being kufr, except in the
case of prayer.”
And he mentioned that the
Sahaabah were unanimously agreed that the one who did not pray was a kaafir
in their view. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
So we must be careful, and adhere to this important
obligation and not take the matter lightly if someone does not pray. We
should not eat meat slaughtered by him, or invite him to any feasts, or
accept his invitations. Rather he should be shunned until he repents to
Allaah and starts to pray. We ask Allaah to guide us all. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz,
10/274-276
See also the answer to question no.
1553
And Allaah knows best. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=2 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/70278/can-we-eat-meat-slaughtered-by-one-who-does-not-pray | 77 | 70,278 |
31 | Their father tells them to pray and adhere to the teachings of Islam but he does not pray | Question
my dad knew every thing about what do you have to do to be a muslem, and he always tell us to do what god ask us to do and he always tell us or show us the right way and he love the god he always tell us to pray and fast everything that make god yerdah anna , but he never did them and never say anthing bad about the islam and he want everybody to be a muslem , but he never pray or fast or anything like that ; what do you call that ? what should we do ? | Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
It is not permissible for your father to neglect prayer,
because neglecting prayer is kufr (disbelief). See the answer to Question
# 2182 and 10094.
Secondly:
Your father must beware of the consequences of this action,
which is that he is telling others to do what is right but not doing
it himself, and forbidding them to do what is wrong but doing it himself.
There are severe warnings to those who do this.
It was narrated that Usaamah ibn Zayd said: “I heard
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘A man will be brought
on the Day of Resurrection and will be thrown into Hell, where his intestines
will be spilled out and he will go around like a donkey goes around
a millstone. The people of Hell will gather around him and say: O so-and-so!
What is wrong with you? Didn't you use to order us to do good deeds
and forbid us to do bad deeds? He will reply: Yes, I used to order you
to do good deeds, but I did not do them myself, and I used to forbid
you to do bad deeds, yet I used to do them myself.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3027; Muslim, 5305)
Thirdly:
Your duty towards your father is to try your best to
call him (da’wah) and tell him that it is obligatory to do the prayers,
with wisdom and beautiful preaching. Your eagerness to guide your father
is one of the greatest ways in which you can honour him. You have to
be patient when doing that, and strive hard in making du’aa’ that he
will be guided.
Remember the story of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) and
his father, who was calling him to shirk, and how Ibraaheem replied
to him and was kind and gentle in the way that he spoke to him.
And remember the story of Abu Hurayrah with his mother,
and how keen he was to call his mother and guide her to Islam. Perhaps
(these stories) may encourage you to strive in calling your father.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “I used to call my mother (to
Islam) when she was still a mushrikah. I called her one day and she
said something about the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that upset me. I went
to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaaah be upon him), weeping. I said, ‘O Messenger
of Allaah, I was calling my mother to Islam and she refused. I called
her today and she said something about you that I upset me. Pray to
Allaah to guide the mother of Abu Hurayrah.’ So the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaaah be upon him) said, ‘O Allaah, guide
the mother of Abu Hurayrah.’ I left, feeling hopeful because of the
du’aa’ of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When I got home, I went
to the door and found it slightly ajar. My mother heard my footsteps
and said, ‘Stay where you are, O Abu Hurayrah!’ I could hear the sound
of water. She bathed and put on her garment, and hastened to put on
her khimaar, then she opened the door and said, ‘O Abu Hurayrah, I bear
witness that there is no god but Allaah and I bear witness that Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allaah.’ I went back to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) weeping with joy. I said,
‘O Messenger of Allaah, Allaah has answered your prayer and guided the
mother of Abu Hurayrah. He praised and thanked Allaah, and said good
words. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, pray to Allaah to make me and
my mother beloved to the believers and make them beloved to us.’ The
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaaah be upon him) said, ‘O Allaah, make this
little slave of Yours – meaning Abu Hurayrah – and his mother beloved
to Your believing slaves and make the believers beloved to them.’ No
believer heard of me or saw me but he loved me.”
(Narrated by Muslim, Fadaa’il al-Sahaabah, 4546)
May Allaah help us all to do that which He loved and
which pleases Him. | Abandoning or neglecting salaat | https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat?page=3 | https://islamqa.info/en/answers/13708/their-father-tells-them-to-pray-and-adhere-to-the-teachings-of-islam-but-he-does-not-pray | 77 | 13,708 |
Dataset Card for English Islam QA Info
Dataset Description
The English Islam QA Info (19,052 questions and answers) is derived from the IslamQA website and contains curated question-and-answer pairs categorized by topic. It serves as a resource for multilingual and cross-lingual natural language processing (NLP) tasks. This dataset is part of a broader initiative to enhance the understanding and computational handling of Islamic jurisprudence and advice.
Key Features
- Curated by: Sheikhul Islam Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and his team
- Languages (NLP): English
- License: CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial)
- Size: Contains approximately 19,052 rows in CSV format.
- Content Fields:
global_id
: Unique ID for each question-answer pair.title
: The title of the question.question
: The formulated question.answer
: The provided answer.topic
: Thematic category derived from the URL.page_url
: URL to the specific Q&A page.article_url
: Direct link to the article.original_topic_id
: ID referencing the original topic in the IslamQA repository.original_id
: ID referencing the original question and answer pair in the IslamQA repository.
Dataset Sources
- Repository: English Islam QA Info on Hugging Face
- Original Source: IslamQA Website
Uses
Direct Use
This dataset is suited for:
- Multilingual NLP tasks such as machine translation, question-answering, and text summarization.
- Cross-lingual semantic search and information retrieval.
- Training and fine-tuning models for understanding religious content.
Usage Example
# Usage Example
from datasets import load_dataset
# Load the dataset
dataset = load_dataset("kingkaung/english_islamqainfo")
# Display the first few rows
print(dataset["train"].select(range(5)))
Out-of-Scope Use
This dataset should not be used for generating biased or harmful content. Topics might contain culturally or religiously sensitive concepts; users should handle with care and respect the original context.
Dataset Structure
The dataset is provided in CSV format, encoded in UTF-8. It includes the following fields:
global_id
: Groups question and answer pairs uniquely.title
,question
,answer
: Core content fields.topic
: Thematic category of the Q&A.page_url
,article_url
: URLs for additional context and verification.original_qanda_id
: Reference ID from the original dataset.
Sample Record
This sample provides a comprehensive view of how the data is structured and presents a real-life scenario drawn from your dataset. It's designed to help users understand the types of information and the depth of content they can expect from the dataset.
{
"global_id": "1",
"title": "She stopped praying when she was sick, then she died; do her heirs have to do anything?",
"question": "My mother died, and she owed two months’ prayers because of cancer; she was intending to make them up. She also owes the fast of the Ramadan before the last, when she was healthy. My question is: what is the correct action with regard to her acts of worship? Please note that I have sisters; can we cooperate to make up these acts of worship (on her behalf)? Will the reward of Hajj reach her (if it is done on her behalf), because she did not do Hajj?",
"answer": "Praise be to Allah. Firstly: Prayer is one of the greatest pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith). What the Muslim must do is always offer the prayers regularly and on time; this duty is not waived so long as he is of sound mind. For more information, please see the answer to question no. 95220. Secondly: You did not say whether your mother had become unconscious and thus was not aware of anything, or not. However it appears from your question that she was of sound mind at the time of her illness, based on the fact that she intended to make up those prayers. In general, the one who does not pray in the case of illness must come under one of the following two scenarios: 1. He stopped praying when he was sick because he had lost his mind or lost consciousness. In this case he does not have to do anything, in sha Allah, and he is not obliged to make up the prayers when he recovers after that. 2. He stopped praying when he was sick but was still of sound mind; but he stopped praying because he thought that prayer was not obligatory for him in that situation. In this case, perhaps Allah will pardon him because of his ignorance, although what the individual is required to do is to learn what he must know of his religion. In either case, the prayers are not to be made up on his behalf if he dies after that. It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (25/257): If your father was unconscious at the time of his illness and did not understand anything, then the obligation of prayer was waived in his case, and he is not accountable when he is in this state. The condition of being accountable for prayer is that the individual should be of sound mind (and not unconscious), and that was not the case here. But if he was not unconscious and was of sound mind, but he did not pray because he was unaware that it is obligatory for people in his situation to pray according to what they are able to do, then perhaps Allah will pardon him and excuse him because he was unaware of that, and because there was no one who could explain the shar‘i ruling to him before he died – may Allah have mercy on him and forgive him. In either case, it is not permissible for you to offer any of the prayers on your father’s behalf, because one cannot pray on behalf of anyone else. The basic ruling is that prayer cannot be delegated to another person. End quote. Thirdly: With regard to making up the fasts, if she did not make them up with no excuse, then it is mustahabb for you to fast on her behalf, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1952) and Muslim (1935) from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 'If anyone dies still owing fasts, let his heir fast on his behalf.' For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 130283 and 130647. It is permissible for making up of the fasts on behalf of the deceased to be done by one heir for all of the days, or it may be done by a number of heirs. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Question: If we follow the more correct opinion, which is that fasting includes that which is obligatory because of basic Islamic teachings and that which is obligatory because of a vow (nadhr), does that mean that this (making up the fasts of behalf of the deceased) is to be done by one of the heirs only, because fasting was obligatory upon one person only? Answer: It does not mean that, because the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), 'let his heir fast on his behalf' include all the heirs. So if we assume that a man has fifteen sons, and each of them wants to fast two out of thirty days, that is acceptable. If there are thirty heirs and each of them fasts one day, that is acceptable, because they will have fasted thirty days. It makes no difference whether they fast on one day, or one fasts on one day, then the second one fasts on the next day, (and so on) until they have completed thirty days. End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (6/452) Fourthly: If a person performs Hajj or ‘Umrah on behalf of his parents, and he has performed Hajj on his own behalf before that, then the reward of that Hajj or ‘Umrah will reach his parents, and that action on the part of the son will be a kind of honouring and kindness towards his parents. Muslim (1939) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah that his father (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whilst I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a woman came to him and said: I gave a slave woman in charity to my mother, who has now died. He said: 'Your reward is due; you may take (the slave woman) back by virtue of your inheritance.' She said: O Messenger of Allah, she owes one month’s fast; can I fast on her behalf? He said: 'Fast on her behalf.' She said: She never did Hajj; can I do Hajj on her behalf? He said: 'Do Hajj on her behalf.' It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (25/257): With regard to your doing Hajj and ‘umrah on behalf of your father, that is part of honouring him and showing kindness to him. And if you give charity on his behalf from time to time, and you offer supplication for him, pray for forgiveness for him, uphold ties of kinship with his relatives, and treat his friends kindly, then that is a way of honouring your father after his death, and you will have a great reward, in sha Allah, for whatever you spend for that purpose. End quote. For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 763 and 104606 And Allah knows best.",
"topic": "Abandoning or neglecting salaat",
"page_url": "https://islamqa.info/en/categories/topics/77/abandoning-or-neglecting-salaat",
"article_url": "https://islamqa.info/en/answers/145290/she-stopped-praying-when-she-was-sick-then-she-died-do-her-heirs-have-to-do-anything",
"original_topic_id": "77",
"original_id": "145290"
}
Who are the Source Data Producers?
The dataset originates from the IslamQA website, managed by Sheikhul Islam Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and his team.
Dataset Creation
Curation Rationale
This dataset was meticulously curated to aid research and applications in multilingual NLP, particularly in the realm of Islamic teachings. It offers a unique insight into religious discourse.
Source Data
Data was meticulously collected and processed from the IslamQA website using advanced web scraping techniques and subsequently curated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Bias, Risks, and Limitations
Risks and Limitations
• Reflects Islamic religious values and might contain sensitive topics.
• May require cultural understanding for appropriate use.
Recommendations
• Respect the cultural and religious context.
• Non-commercial use only, unless permission is granted by IslamQA.
Citation
BibTeX:
@misc{english_islamqa_info,
author = {Sheikhul Islam Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and the IslamQA team},
title = {English Islam QA Info},
year = {2025},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/kingkaung/english_islamqainfo},
note = {Dataset for research purposes only.}
}
APA:
Sheikhul Islam Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and the IslamQA team. (2025). English Islam QA Info. Retrieved from https://huggingface.co/datasets/kingkaung/english_islamqainfo
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