a hadith or a verse stating, “Whoever abandons the prayer is not a disbeliever,” or something similar? Had such wording occurred, we would have said: this is a contradiction. But no such text exists. The texts they cite as contradictory fall into five categories.

The first category consists of texts that provide no evidence at all for the issue, such as the argument some of them draw from Allah’s saying: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whom He wills.” [al-Nisa 4:48, 116] They argue that abandoning the prayer falls under “whatever is less than that,” and is therefore subject to Allah’s will; and whatever is subject to His will cannot constitute disbelief.

The response is that the meaning of “whatever is less than that” is whatever is lesser than it; it does not mean everything other than it. The proof is that whoever denies what Allah and His Messenger have conveyed is a disbeliever whose disbelief will not be forgiven, even though his sin is not shirk. Even if we were to concede that “whatever is less than that” means everything other than it, this would be a general expression qualified by the texts indicating disbelief on grounds other than shirk. Disbelief that expels one from the faith is among the sins that are not forgiven, even if it is not shirk.

This category also includes texts that are equivocal because they may bear more than one meaning. They must therefore be understood according to the meaning that accords with the clear and decisive texts, such as the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit: “Allah, exalted is He, has prescribed five prayers. Whoever performs their ablution well, performs them at their appointed times, and completes their bowing and humility, will have from Allah…”