Is One Who Abandons Prayer a Disbeliever? Sharʿī Ruling on His Funeral Prayer
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Janāzah Issues, Vol. 1, p. 258
❖ Relevant Aḥādīth
Ḥadīth 1:
«إِنَّ بَیْنَ الرَّجُلِ وَبَیْنَ الشِّرْکِ وَالْکُفْرِ تَرْکَ الصَّلٰوۃِ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Bāb: Bayān Iṭlāq Ism al-Kufr ʿAlā Man Taraka al-Ṣalāh)
Translation:
“Indeed, between a man and shirk and kufr is the abandonment of prayer.”
Ḥadīth 2:
«اَلْعَهْدُ الَّذِیْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمُ الصَّلٰوةُ فَمَنْ تَرَکَهَا فَقَدْ کَفَرَ»
(Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Īmān, Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Tark al-Ṣalāh)
Translation:
“The covenant between us and them is prayer; whoever abandons it has indeed committed kufr.”
❖ Explanation
➊ One who denies the obligation of prayer (منكر الصلاة):
- If a person rejects the obligation of prayer and claims it is not farḍ, then by consensus he is a disbeliever.
- This is because he has denied a ruling of the Sharīʿah that is known by necessity, which constitutes apostasy from Islam.
➋ One who abandons prayer out of laziness or neglect (تارك الصلاة):
- Such a person acknowledges prayer as obligatory but fails to observe it due to laziness, heedlessness, or worldly preoccupations.
- Regarding him, scholars have differed:
❀ Some scholars rule that he is a disbeliever, based on the apparent wording of the above aḥādīth.
❀ Others hold that he is a sinner and fāsiq but does not leave the fold of Islam unless he denies its obligation.
➌ Funeral Prayer for the One Who Abandons Prayer:
- From the Sunnah, it is not established that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever performed the funeral prayer for one who abandoned prayer.
- Therefore, based on these narrations and the practice of the Companions (رضي الله عنهم), offering the funeral prayer for such a person is not proven.
❖ Conclusion
◈ If a person denies the obligation of prayer → he is a disbeliever.
◈ If a person abandons prayer due to negligence while accepting its obligation → he is in severe danger, and according to some scholars, this too amounts to kufr.
◈ The funeral prayer of one who abandons prayer is not established from the Prophet ﷺ, hence should not be offered.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam bis-ṣawāb. ✅
