Ruling On The One Who Abandons The Prayer
—Al-Shaykh Al-Muḥaddith Sulaymān Al-ʿAlwān
Question: What is the ruling on the one who abandons the prayer (tārik al-ṣalāh)?
Answer: Several sub-questions branch from this question, including: What is the ruling on praying at home — and which is closer (to correctness), (and whether the ruling is subject to) someone who never prays at all, or someone who prays only every other Friday, etc.?
Prayer (ṣalāh) is one of the pillars of Islām, and it is the second pillar by the consensus (ijmā‘) of the Muslims. It has been narrated in the Ṣaḥīḥayn (the two authentic books of prophetic traditions) from the ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said:
«بني الإسلام على خمس شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسول الله وإقام الصلاة...»
"Islām is built upon five: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allāh and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh, and establishing the prayer..."
And Allāh (Jalla wa-‘Alā) commanded its performance and establishment even during times of severe fear:
﴿وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمۡ فَأَقَمۡتَ لَهُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَلۡتَقُمۡ طَآئِفَةٞ...﴾
"When you ˹O Prophet˺ are ˹campaigning˺ with them and you lead them in prayer, let one group of them pray with you..."
Furthermore, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) decreed a severe punishment for abandoning it, such that the one who abandons it will be resurrected with Fir‘awn, Hāmān, Qārūn, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf—and these are the leaders of disbelief (kufr) and the titans of heresy (ṣanādīd al-ilḥād). This is upon the ḥadīth of Abū ‘Abdillāh bin ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ, with a strong chain of transmission (sanad qawī) in Musnad Aḥmad and Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) mentioned the prayer one day and said:
«من حافظ عليها كانت له نورًا وبرهانًا ونجاةً يوم القيامة ومن لم يحافظ عليها لم يكن له نور ولا برهان ولا نجاة يوم القيامة وكان يوم القيامة مع فرعون وهامان وقارون وأبي بن خلف»
"Whoever maintains it, it will be a light, a proof, and a salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever does not maintain it, he will have no light, no proof, and no salvation on the Day of Resurrection, and on the Day of Resurrection, he will be with Fir‘awn, Hāmān, Qārūn, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf."
It was also narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Imām Muslim from the ḥadīth of Ibn Jurayj, from Abū al-Zubayr al-Makkī, from Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh, that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said:
«بين الرجل وبين الشرك أو الكفر ترك الصلاة»
"Between a man and polytheism [al-shirk] or disbelief [al-kufr] is the abandonment of prayer."
Disbelief (al-kufr) or polytheism (al-shirk), when defined with the definite article "al-" (the alif and lām), explicitly refers to major disbelief (al-kufr al-akbar) and major polytheism (al-shirk al-akbar).
Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh mentioned the agreement and consensus (ijmā‘) regarding the disbelief (kufr) of the one who abandons the prayer. This consensus is authentic concerning the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam), as there was no disagreement among them regarding the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer. Even though disagreement arose later among the Imāms of the jurisprudential schools (madhāhib)—where Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, and al-Shāfi‘ī held a different view—Imām Aḥmad (raḥimahullāh Ta‘ālā) ruled that the one who abandons the prayer commits disbelief (kufr), based on the aforementioned textual evidences. Allāh (Jalla wa-‘Alā) said:
﴿...وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَلَا تَكُونُواْ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ﴾
"...and establish prayer, and do not be of the polytheists [mushrikīn]."
Thus, Allāh (Jalla wa-‘Alā) named the one who abandons prayer a polytheist (mushrik). Allāh (Jalla wa-‘Alā) also said:
﴿فَإِن تَابُواْ وَأَقَامُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُاْ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَخَلُّواْ سَبِيلَهُمۡۚ﴾
"But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakāh, then set them free."
And in the other verse,
﴿...فَإِخۡوَٰنُكُمۡ فِي ٱلدِّينِۗ﴾
"...then they are your brothers in faith.”
It is known from this that brotherhood is negated by abandoning the prayer (ṣalāh), and that he is not a brother to us in religion, meaning he is a disbeliever (kāfir).
It is known from this that it is incorrect to apply the term "brotherhood" to the Jews or the Christians; if brotherhood were applied to them, there would be no benefit to this meaning, and this group would become equivalent to that group, and the one who performs prayer would be equivalent to the one who abandons it—and no one holds this view.
Does disbelief (kufr) apply to the one who abandons a single prayer, or does it apply to total abandonment (al-tark al-kullī)?
Regarding total abandonment, there is no ambiguity concerning his disbelief among the Companions (Ṣaḥābah). However, regarding the one who abandons a single prayer, its determination has not been established by consensus (ijmā‘).
Nevertheless, it has been narrated from five of the Companions that they said: "Whoever abandons a single prayer until its time expires is a disbeliever (kāfir)." It was therefore said that this is also a consensus, and it was also said that this is not a consensus because it was only narrated from five and was not narrated from the generality of them or all of them.
Some texts have come to confirm (tuʾakkid) that the one who abandons a single prayer does not commit disbelief, such as the man who made a condition upon the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) that he would only pray two prayers a day, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) accepted his Islām.
The ḥadīth was narrated by Aḥmad through the path of Wakī‘, from Qatādah, from Naṣr ibn ‘Āṣim, from a man among them, and its chain of transmission (isnād) is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ).
They (i.e. the scholars who cite it as evidence) said: "If he were a disbeliever, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) would not have accepted from him to perform only two prayers a day."
It was said in response that this was at the beginning of Islām, but after that, this is no longer valid.
And likewise, (in the ḥadīth mentioned eariler)
«من حافظ عليها..»
"...whoever maintains it..."
it is known that regarding the one who does not maintain it, it was said that he commits disbelief.
It was said that what is meant by "maintaining it" is performing it within its prescribed times, and it was said that maintaining it means simply praying it, and this is also an area of disagreement.
It was said that whoever performs some and abandons some is a disbeliever, and it was said that whoever performs some and abandons some does not commit disbelief, due to the ḥadīth of Abū Qatādah in Sunan Abī Dāwūd:
«كان حقًا على الله أن يدخله الجنة»
"It is a right upon Allāh to admit him to Paradise"
—meaning, whoever maintains them; and whoever detracts anything from them, if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him. (As stated in some wordings of the ḥadīth of ʿUbādah bin Al-Ṣāmit, see takhrīj). Thus, forgiveness could not reach him if he were a disbeliever.
So it is known that the disbeliever (kāfir) is the one who leaves the prayer entirely, whereas the one who performs some rather than others does not commit disbelief. The consideration in this matter is based on the majority [of the prayers]. As for the one who never prays them at all, it is clear that he is a disbeliever (kāfir). And if he only prays the Friday prayer (Jumu‘ah), then he is a disbeliever, because it cannot be truly said of him that he prayed some rather than others; it cannot be truly said of him that he prayed Ẓuhr but abandoned ‘Aṣr, or prayed Maghrib but abandoned ‘Ishā’. However, this is a lighter form of disbelief (akhaffu kufran) than the one who does not pray entirely, whether he denies its obligation (jaḥada) or does not deny it—there is no difference in that, and restricting this to denial (jaḥd) has no evidence supporting it.
Regarding the prayer, its proper place is the mosque (masjid):
﴿فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرۡفَعَ وَيُذۡكَرَ فِيهَا ٱسۡمُهُۥ﴾ (24:36)
{In houses (mosques) which Allâh has ordered to be raised (to be cleaned, and to be honoured), in them His Name is remembered [i.e. Adhan, Iqamah, Salât (prayers), invocations, recitation of the Qur’ân etc.].}
And Allāh (Jalla wa-‘Alā) commanded praying in the mosques, just as it has been reported in the Ṣaḥīḥayn from Abū al-Zinād, from al-A‘raj, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said:
"I was about to order the prayer to be established, then order a man to lead the people, then go with some men to those who do not attend the prayer and burn their houses down upon them." (Full text, see)
And as it came in Muslim from the statement of Ibn Mas‘ūd (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu):
"I have seen the time when no one stayed away from it, except a hypocrite"
It is known from this that performing the prayer in the mosques is obligatory (wājib). But is this a condition for its validity (sharṭ li-ṣiḥḥatihā) or not? There are two opinions among the people of knowledge:
The first opinion: That the mosque is a condition for its validity, and this was the preference of Ibn ‘Aqīl al-Ḥanbalī (raḥimahullāh Ta‘ālā).
The second opinion: Which is the view of the majority (jumhūr), that it is not a condition for its validity, but it is obligatory. Therefore, if he prays it at home, it is sufficient but accompanied by sin.
And Allāh knows best.
— Al-Shaykh Al-Muḥaddith Sulaymān Al-ʿAlwān (text)
~ Galandān
