Q: What do you say about those who neglect offering Salah (Prayer)?
A: Salah holds a great position in Islam. It is the cornerstone of Islam and the second greatest pillar next to Shahadah (Testimony of Faith). Whoever holds fast to it, will preserve his Din (religion), and whoever neglects it will neglect all other good deeds. Allah (may He be Exalted) states: "Guard strictly (five obligatory) As Salawât (the prayers) especially the middle Salât (i.e. the best prayer 'Asr). And stand before Allâh with obedience [and do not speak to others during the Salât (prayers)]". (Al-Baqarah 2:238) and "And perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and give Zakât, and Irka' (i.e. bow down or submit yourselves with obedience to Allâh) along with Ar Raki'ûn" (Al-Baqarah 2:43). Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) also states: "And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allâh, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât) and give Zakât: and that is the right religion" (Al-Baiyinah 98:5). In another Ayah (Qur'anic verse) Allah (may He be Praised) states: "Recite (O Muhammad SAW) what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Qur'ân), and perform As-Salât (Iqamât as Salât). Verily, As-Salât (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahshâ' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.)"(Al-'Ankabut 29:45). The Qur'an contains countless Ayahs which indicate the lofty status of Salah and encourage Muslims to steadfastly perform it.
It was authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated: The peak of the matter is Islam; its pillar is Salah; and its topmost part is Jihad (Fighting/Struggling in the Cause of Allah). and: Islam has been built upon five pillars: to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish Salah, to pay Zakah, to fast the month of Ramadan and to perform Hajj. [see Imam An-Nawawi's 40 Ahadith].
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also stated:
That which differentiates us from them (i.e. disbelievers and hypocrites) is our performance of Salah. He who abandons it, becomes a disbeliever[Reported by Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i]. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: What makes one a disbeliever and a polytheist is abandoning Salah (Prayer). [Reported by Imam Muslim]
[The above Ahadith appears slightly different in the Fatawa Arkan-ul-Islam by Shaykh ibn Uthaimeen as follows : "The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed an act of Kufr" and "Verily, between a man and Shirk and Kufr is the abandonment of prayer". *additional note by Thoobaah*]
All other Hadiths narrated in this regard indicate that abandonment of Salah is tantamount to Kufr (disbelief), even if the abandoner does not deny its obligation.
This is the most correct view held by scholars in this regard as substantiated by evidence. However, denying the obligatory status of Salah constitutes an act of Kufr as has been unanimously agreed upon by scholars, even if the abandoner is known to offer it regularly. The reason for deeming him a Kafir is that his denial is tantamount to rejecting Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Abandonment of Salah invalidates one's Sawm, Hajj and all other acts of worship. This is because major disbelief renders all acts of worship fruitless. This is the meaning of the Ayah which reads: "And whosoever disbelieves in the Oneness of Allâh and in all the other Articles of Faith [i.e. His (Allâh's), Angels, His Holy Books, His Messengers, the Day of Resurrection and AlQadar (Divine Preordainments)], then fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers" (Al-Ma'idah 5:5). The same meaning is implied in another Ayah which reads: "But if they had joined in worship others with Allâh, all that they used to do would have been of no benefit to them. (Al-An'am 6:88). There are many other Ayahs with the same intended meaning.
Muslims, men or women, are duty bound to offer the Five Obligatory Daily Prayers at their appointed times. They should enjoin one another to do this and beware not to neglect it. A male Muslim must offer it in the Masjid (mosque) with his Muslim brothers. This is based on the Hadith in which the prophet (peace be upon him) stated: "Whoever hears the Adhan (call to prayer), yet does not go to the Masjid without a valid excuse shall receive no reward for his Salah. When Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked about the excuse which one may abandon congregational Salah, he said: "(It is) fear or illness." [Sunan Ibn Majah].
It is also narrated in Sahih (Authentic Book of Hadith) Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that A blind man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have no one to guide me to the Masjid." He, therefore, asked. Allah's Messenger's permission to offer Prayer in his house. He (the Prophet) called him and said: "Do you hear the call to prayer?" He said: "Yes." He (the Prophet then) said: "Respond to it." [Sahih Muslim]. This noble Hadith indicates the great position of offering Salah in congregation and the necessity to hold fast to it. Many people fall into the enormous sin of neglecting the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer in congregation. This is one characteristic of hypocrisy.
A Muslim man should be aware and observe the Fajr Prayer and hasten to perform it in congregation at its appointed time, as he does in the rest of the Five Obligatory Daily Prayers. Allah (may He be Exalted) states: "Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allâh, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salât (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allâh but little" (An-Nisa 4:142). The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: "The most burdensome Prayers for the hypocrites are the `Isha' (Night) Prayer and the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer. If they were to know (the blessings) they have in store, they would have come to them, even though crawling". (Agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).Imam Ahmad (may Allah be merciful with him) narratedon the authority of `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`As (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: One day the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke of the great position of Salah and stated: "Whosoever observes it regularly, it will be a source of light, authoritative proof and a means of salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection, and whosoever does not observe it regularly, it will not be a source of light, authoritative proof and a means of salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection and on that day he will join the company of Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun (Kora) and Ubay ibn Khalaf." The Hadith portends severe punishment for those who abandon Salah.
Commenting on the above Hadith, some scholars said: "On the Day of Resurrection one who abandons Salah will join the company of Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun (Kora) and Ubay ibn Khalaf. The reason is that if he abandons it for the sake of holding a prestigious position, he will be behaving like Pharoah who transgressed and behaved arrogantly taking advantage of his royal position. One who abandons it will join his company on the Day of Resurrection. The same is true with Haman, Pharoah's minister who, taking advantage of his position, behaved arrogantly and refused to follow Musa (Moses, peace be upon him). One who neglects Salah because of wealth and lusting after desires is similar to Qarun, an Israelite merchant whom Allah mentions in the Qur'an: Verily, Qârûn (Korah) was of Mûsâ’s (Moses) people, but he behaved arrogantly towards them.
He was distracted by wealth and desires to the point that he disobeyed and arrogantly refused to follow Musa. Allah caused the earth to swallow him up along with his abode. Allah inflicted immediate punishment on him in this life by causing him to remain imprisoned deep down in the earth until the Day of Resurrection where he will suffer eternal punishment. One who abandons Salah being preoccupied with buying, selling, or engaging in various transactions with the sole purpose of amassing wealth will on the Day of Resurrection join the company of Ubay ibn Khalaf, the Makkan merchant who denied Islam. Ubay was killed while in a state of Kufr (disbelief) in the Battle of Uhud. The Prophet (peace be upon him) struck him down with his own blessed hand. The threat mentioned in the Ayah above indicates without a doubt that one who abandons Salah is considered a Kafir even if he does not deny its being an obligatory duty. We ask Allah to protect all Muslims and us from following the evil examples of His enemies.
By Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baaz
Source: IFTA
http://alifta.net/fatawa/fatawaDetails.aspx?BookID=14&View=Page&PageNo=1&PageID=1510
