. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

He may either forgive him or He may punish him."1 The prayers are a type of purification for a human being. He turns and meets with his Lord five times a day. As alluded to above, this repeated standing in front of Allah should keep the person from performing sins during the day. Furthermore, it should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he earnestly asks Allah for forgiveness for those sins that he committed. In addition, the prayer in itself is a good deed that wipes away some of the evil deeds that he performed. These points can be noted in the following hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him): / . \.!ଖI "If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday Prayer act as expiation for what is between them." (Recorded by Muslim.) Finally, al-Saadi points out that prayer is the greatest assistant in achieving one's good in both this life and the Hereafter. He quotes Allah's saymg, c @A\/ .:- :z_1L i ਙ :'.'" \/ J ৄ৅৆J "Seek help in patience and prayer" (al-Baqara 45). He says that this verse implies, "Seek help concerning any matter in patience and prayer." With respect to one's religion, if a person is constant and regular in his prayers, it makes it easy for him to perform the good deeds, as his soul feels at rest with them and he looks for their reward from Allah. At the same time, the prayer wa Atharahaa ft Ta/seer al-Quran al-Kareem (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ubaikaan, 1993), pp. 249254. 1 Recorded by Malik, Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Nasaai and others. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. Al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 1, p. 616. Hadith #3: Islam Has Been Built Upon Five [Pillars] lessens his desire and craving to perform the evil deeds. As for matters of this world, the prayer makes the difficulties and hardships easier for him to bear. Allah will reward him due to his prayers by making his matters easier for him and by blessing him in his wealth and deeds. 1 The Ruling Concerning One Who Does not Pray There is a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the one who fails to perform this ever important pillar of Islam. The question is whether or not one who does not perform the prayer still remains in the fold of Islam. That is, does one become a disbeliever by the fact that he does not pray? In general, one may break down those who do not pray into the following categories:2 (1) Those who, by agreement, are not disbelievers. This includes those people who may have missed a prayer due to forgetfulness or sleep. Obviously, such people are not considered disbelievers. (2) Those who, by agreement of all scholars, are disbelievers. This category includes the following groups of people: (i) The one who does not perform the prayer and rejects the idea that it is obligatory to pray. This person is a disbeliever by consensus as he is going against numerous and definitive evidences from the Quran and sunnah. (ii) The one who refuses to pray out of pride or envy. This is the person who recognizes the truth of Islam yet he does not want to submit to Islam or perform the prayer out of hatred for the religion, out of pride that he does not feel that he must perform such an act and so forth. (iii) The one who does not pray out of disdain and ridicule for the prayer. This person is disdaining or ridiculing one of the foundations of Islam and, for that reason, this takes him out of the fold oflslam. (iv) The one who refuses to pray even though he is being threatened by the proper authorities with being killed as a punishment for not praying. This person is considered a disbeliever since he refuses to submit even with a threat of death. (v) The one who simply disregards the prayer completely, without recognizing that it is obligatory or rejecting it as an obligation. (3) Concerning the third category, there is a difference of opinion whether or not these people fall outside of the fold of Islam. These are the people who accept the obligation of prayer and do not deny its importance. They recognize that they are committing a sin by not praying. Yet, still, out of 1 Abdul Rahmaan al-Saadi, al-Riyaadh al-Naadhirah wa al-Hadaaiq al-Nayyarah al-7.aahirah ft al-Aqaaid wa al-Funoon al-Mutanawaah al-Faakhirah (Riyadh: Ramaadi li-1-Nashr, 1996), pp. 26-27. 2 Cf., al-Abdul Lateef, pp. 452-455. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi laziness, remiss or such, they do not perform the prayer.