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The
ruling concerning one who does not pray
Question:
What is the ruling concerning a person who died and he did
not pray, although his parents were Muslims? How should he
be dealt with concerning the washing of his body, shrouding,
prayer, burial, supplications and asking for mercy upon him?
Response:
Any sane adult person who dies and does not pray, given that
he knows the Islaamic ruling about prayer, is a disbeliever.
He is not to be washed nor should he be prayed over. He is
not to be buried in the Muslim cemetery. His Muslim relatives
do not inherit from him. In fact, his wealth is to be given
to the state treasury according to the strongest opinion among
the scholars. This is based on the authentic hadeeth in which
the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said, "Between
a person and kufr (disbelief) and shirk (associating partners
with Allaah) is the abandonment of the prayer." This was recorded
by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh. The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe
wa sallam) also said, "The covenant dividing us and them is
the prayer. Whoever abandons it has committed kufr (apostasy)."
This was recorded by Ahmad and the Compilers of the Sunan
with an authentic chain from the Hadeeth of Buraydah. 'Abdullaah
ibn Shaqeeq al-'Aqeelee, one of the Noble Followers, stated,
"The Companions of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)
did not consider the abandonment of any act as kufr except
the [abandonment of] prayer." There are many Ahaadeeth and
reports with that meaning. This is concerning the one who
does not pray out of laziness. The one who refuses to accept
it as being obligatory is an apostatising disbeliever according
to all of the scholars of Islaam.
We
ask Allaah to make the affairs of the Muslims good and lead
them to follow the Straight Path. He is the All-Hearing, the
Responder.
Shaykh
Ibn Baaz
Fataawa al-Mar.ah
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