Abandoning Prayer (Salaat)
A Major sin in Islam
Allaah Most High says (which means): Then there has
succeeded them a generation which has given up prayers (i.e, made
their praycrs to be lost, either by not offering them at all 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 and believe in the
Oneness of Allaah and His Messenger (
),
and act righteously. [Maryam, 19:59-60]
And He (T) said (which means): Woe unto those performers of
prayers (hypocrites) who are unmindful of their prayers (i.e.,
delay their prayer from its stated fixed time). [Al-Maa'oon,
107:4-5]
And He (T) said (which means): O you who believe! Let not
your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance
of Allaah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers.
[Al-Munaafiqoon, 63:9]
The commentators of the Qur'aan say: "The 'remembrance of
Allaah' mentioned in these Aayaat means the five daily prayers.
If anyone is so busy in buying and selling, or with his daily
work of earning a livelihood, or with his children, that he
cannot perform prayers on time, he will be among the losers."
The first thing which will be judged among a man's deeds on
the Day of Resurrection is the Prayer. If this is in good order
then he will succeed and prosper but if it is defective then he
will fail and will be a loser. [Nasaa'ee, Tirmidhee, Ibn
Maajah]
Informing us about the inhabitants of Hell, Allaah Most High
says (which means): (The people in Hell will be asked:) What
has caused you to enter Hell? They will say: We were not among
those who used to pray. Nor did we feed the poor. And we used to
talk falsehood (all that which Allaah hated) with vain-talkers.
And we used to belie thc Day of Recompense. Until there came to
us that which is certain (i.e., death). So no Intercession of
intercessors will benefit them [Al-Muddaththir, 74:42-48]
The Prophet
said (which means): The covenant between us and them is
prayer, so if anyone abandons it he has become a disbeliever.
[Ahmad, Tirmidhee, Nasaa'ee]
And he
also said (which means): What lies between a man and disbelief
is the abandonment of prayer. [Muslim, Aboo Dawood, Nasaa'ee]
And he
said (which means): If anyone abandons prayer deliberately
then he has no claim upon Allaah. [Ibn Maajah, ADAB-AL-MUFRAD
of Bukhaari, Tabaraani]
And he
said (which means): I have been ordered to fight against the
people until they testify that there is no one worthy of worship
but Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah and until
they perform the Prayers and pay the Zakaah, and if they do so
they will have gained protection from me for their lives and
property, unless [they do acts that are punishable] in accordance
with Islaam, and their reckoning will be with Allaah Most High.
[Bukhaari, Muslim]
And he
,
mentioning the prayer, said (which means): If anyone keeps to
it, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day
of Resurrection. But if anyone does not keep to it, it will not
be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of
Resurrection, and on that Day he will be associated with Qaroon,
Pharaoh, Namaan and Ubayy bin Khalaf (an enemy of Islaam from
among the Quraysh). [Ahmad, Tabaraanee, Ibn Hibbaan]
Ibn Al-Qayyim explained: The person who abandons prayer will
be raised with such a foursome because his neglect of player may
be due to his involvement with his property, his country, his
administrative work or his trade. Therefore, if he was involved
with his property he will be ressurected with Qaroon; if with his
country, then with Pharaoh; if with his administrative work, then
with Hamaan; and if with his trade then with Ubayy bin Khalaf,
the trader among the disbelievers of Makkah.
- `Abdullaah bin Shaqeeq Al-`Aqeelee Tabi`ee (Tabi`ee: a
successor to the companions of the Prophet
]
said: "The Companions of the Prophet
did not consider the abandonment of any good deed to be
disbelief except the abandonment of the Prayer." [Tirmidhee,
Haakim]
- When `Alee
was asked about a women who did not pray, he said: "The one who
does not pray is a disbeliever." [Tirmidhee, Haakim]
- Ibn Mas`ood (R) said: "The one who abandons the prayer has
no religion." [Muhammad bin Nasr Al Mirwazee]
- Ibn `Abbaas (R) said: "The one who leaves off a single
prayer deliberately will find, when he meets Allaah Most High,
that He (T) is angry with him." [Muhammad bin Nasr Al-Mirwazee,
Ibn Abdul-Barr]
- Ibn Hazm said: "There is no greater sin after polytheism
than delaying a prayer until its time has passed and killing a
believer without a just cause."
- Ibraheem Al-Nakha`ee said: "The one who has abandoned the
prayer has become a disbeliever." Aboo Ayyoob Al-Sakhtiyanee
said something similar to this.
Ibn Hazm writes conclusively: "It has come from `Umar, `Abdur-Rahmaan
bin `Awf, Mu`aadh bin Jabal, Aboo Hurayrah and other companions
that anyone who skips one obligatory prayer until its time has
finished becomes an apostate. We find no difference of opinion
among them on this point."
This was mentioned by Al Mundhiree in AT-TARGHEEB WA AT-TARHEEB.
Then he comments: A group of Companions and those who came after
them believed that an intentional decision to skip one prayer
until its time is completely finished makes one an unbeliever.
The people of this opinion include `Umar bin Al-Khattaab, `Abdullaah
bin Mas`ood, `Abdullaah bin `Abbaas, Mu`aadh bin Jabal, Jaabir
bin `Abdullaah and Aboo Ad-Dardaa'. Among the non-companions who
shared this view were: Ibn Hanbal, Ishaaq bin Rahwayh, `Abdullaah
bin Mubaarak, An-Nakha`ee, Al-Hakam bin `Utaibah, Aboo Ayyoob As-Sakhtiyaanee,
Aboo Dawood At-Tiyaalisee, Aboo Bakr bin Aboo Shaybah, Zuhayr in
Harb, and others.
REFERENCES:
- Al-Haythamee, Ibn Hajr, AZ-ZAWAAJIR `AN IQTIRAAF AL
KABAA'IR, Vol. I, (corrected by) Ahmad Abdush-Shaafee, Daar Al-Kutub
Al-`Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, 1987
- Dhahabee, Imaam Muhammad bin `Uthmaan, KITAAB AL-KABAA'IR,
(Engl. tr.) Mohammed Moinuddin Siddiqui, Dar El-Fiker, Beirut,
Lebanon, 1993.
- Sabiq, As-Sayyid, FIQH-US SUNNAH, Vol. I, (Engl. tr.)
Muhammad Sa`eed Dabas and Jamal al-Din Zarabozo, Maktabat al-Khadamat-e
Al-Hadithah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1987.