Punishment for Abandoning Prayer: Islamic Ruling of the Ruler and Ibn Taymiyyah’s Fatwa
Source: Fatāwā Aminpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Aminpuri
Question
Can the ruler of the time punish a person for abandoning prayer?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
✿ It is obligatory upon the ruler to ensure that his subjects adhere to the farāʾiḍ (obligatory duties) and wājibāt, and he must make every possible effort to establish them.
✿ If, despite being admonished, someone abandons a farḍ prayer, he should be punished. And if someone denies the obligation of prayer, then fighting (qitāl) against him is prescribed.
❀ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (RA) (d. 728 AH) said:
الواجب على ولي الأمر أن يأمر بالصلوات المكتوبات جميع من يقدر على أمره ويعاقب التارك بإجماع المسلمين.
“It is obligatory upon the ruler to command all those under his authority to establish the prescribed prayers, and he must punish the one who abandons them. There is consensus of the Muslims on this.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 28/307)
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
