Excerpted from: Aḥkām wa Masā’il – In the Light of Qur’an and Sunnah
Author: Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani
❖ Question:
Is it permissible for a man to marry his daughter to someone who does not perform Salah (prayer)?
❖ Answer:
It is not appropriate to give a righteous, practicing daughter in marriage to a man who neglects Salah, i.e., a non-praying man, provided that the daughter herself is observant in her religious duties such as prayer and fasting.
Allah Almighty says:
﴿ أَفَمَن كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا كَمَن كَانَ فَاسِقًا ۚ لَا يَسْتَوُونَ ﴾
[Surah as-Sajdah: 18]
Translation:
“Is the one who is a believer like the one who is a sinner? They are not equal.”
A man who abandons prayer is deemed fāsiq (open sinner), and he cannot be considered a compatible match (kufw) for a woman who is devout and righteous.
Therefore:
✔ Such a man should not be given the hand of a practicing Muslim woman,
✖ Unless the daughter herself also does not observe prayer — in which case the ruling differs.
