. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

Some scholars say that such a person falls completely out of the fold of Islam, he shall be in the Hell­ fire forever and, in fact, Muslims cannot perform the funeral prayer for him in this world. Other scholars state that such a person is truly an evildoer, he is committing a lesser form of kufr and is at the doorstep of falling out of the fold oflslam. However, he does stay within the overall fold oflslam and is not to be treated like or considered a disbeliever. This is not the proper place for a detailed discussion of this very important question. 1 One of the strongest pieces of evidence for those who say that such a person does become a disbeliever is the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), "Between a man and polytheism (al-shirk) and disbelief (al-kufr) is the abandoning of the prayer." (Recorded by Muslim.) In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used the definitive al-shirk and al-kujr, which is a reference to something known and understood. This is understood to refer to the kufr that takes one out of the fold of Islam. Furthermore, both the words shirk and kufr have been used, and this is another sign that the act must take one out of the fold oflslam. In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, "The covenant that is between us and them [the disbelievers] is the prayer. Whoever abandons it has committed an act of unbelief."2 In yet another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, 1 An excellent discussion of this point may be found in al-Abdul Lateef, pp. 456-498. For numerous hadith, statements of Companions and others' statements that clearly state that abandoning the prayer is tantamount to disbelief, see Ubaidullah ibn Battah, Al-lbaanah an Shareeah al-Firq al-Naajiyah wa Mujaanibah al-Firq al-Madhmoomah (Riyadh: Daar al­ Raayah, 1988), vol. 2, pp. 669-684. lbn Uthaimeen is a scholar who believes that one who does not pray becomes an unbeliever. His arguments may be found in Muhammad ibn Uthaimeen, Hukum Taarik al-Salaat (Fairfax, VA: IIASA, n.d.), passim. Al-Albaani says that such a person is not a disbeliever. His arguments may be found in a book by the same name, Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Hukum Taarik al-salah (Riyadh: Daar al-Jalalain, 1992), passim. In English, a brief discussion with a partial discussion of some related evidences may be found As-Sayyid Sabiq, Fiqh us-Sunnah (Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1985), vol. 1, pp. 77-80. This author is of the definite conclusion that if a person abandons the prayer, he is committing an act of kufr that takes him out of the fold of Islam if he is aware of that fact. 2 Recorded by al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasaai, ibn Maajah and Ahmad. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 760. Hadith #3: Islam Has Been Built Upon Five [Pillars] ' /. "' / / / a ,,... ,,... ""' “ :' କJJ1 ¢ ऄ; :w 1j:;Dz: ଒} ଓ 1:1:::: (_,Ko oj(p ंः ':1 "Do not abandon an obligatory prayer intentionally for the one who fails to perform it intentionally has made himself free of the protection of Allah and His messenger.''1 One of the strongest pieces of evidence for those who say that such a person does not leave the fold of Islam is a hadith mentioned earlier: /. ,,,. /. /. (SJ .-: ,,. ,,, ,,,. (SJ /. ,,,. tfi) ôõ ÷j(p) ÷;. j.;:,j öi:; JW ill1 4fal pl5 6 ,,... / ,,...,,,, 0 / / 0 / rP / ,,.. / ,,,. /. /. J J>- I ࣿ ऀ ँ :;) I J 0i ଑ ଔ\ J>- I 015' K#) K§L (SJ ,,... ,,. ,,... ,,... ,,,. "' 4;ଚ ;.G 01J' I -े ;.G 01 "1·,M ill\ • I_r-- &. ࢳ,,,. , , "Allah has obligated five prayers. Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows, and khushoo' has a promise from Allah that He will forgive him. And whoever does not do that has no promise from Allah. He may either forgive him or He may punish him."2 However, it is important to note the conclusion that both sets of scholars come to. Those who say that the person falls out of the fold of Islam state that the person is to be killed as an apostate, if he does not repent. Most of those scholars who say that he does not fall outside of the fold of Islam state that he must be commanded to pray and ifhe refuses to pray, then he should be killed as a punishment for his refusal to pray.3 Hence, the conclusion of the majority of the scholars is the same. Abandoning the prayer, this pillar of Islam, is such a heinous act that these scholars agree that such a person is not deserving to live.