277 — Abū Nasr Muhammad ibn Kurdī narrated to us: Abū Bakr al-Marwazī narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Abd Allah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from ⦗654⦘ Muhammad ibn Abī Ismāīl, from Maqil ibn Maqil al-Khathamī, who said:

A man came to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was in al-Rahaba and said, “O Commander of the Faithful, what is your view concerning a woman who does not pray?” He replied, “Whoever does not pray is a disbeliever.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) said: These traditions and reports concerning the abandonment and neglect of prayer—together with those we have not mentioned, which would make the book too lengthy—such as the hadith of Hudhayfa and his words to a man who had not completed his prayer properly, “Had this man died, he would have died outside the natural faith of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),” as well as similar reports from Bilāl and others, demonstrate that prayer is part of faith. Whoever does not pray has neither faith nor Islam.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, called prayer “faith” in His Book. The people had been praying toward Jerusalem until they were turned toward the Kaaba, and some people died while that was still the direction of prayer. When ⦗655⦘ the direction of prayer was changed to the Kaaba, some people said, “O Messenger of Allah, what of those among our brothers who died while praying toward Jerusalem?” Allah, Mighty and Majestic, then revealed: “Allah would never let your faith go to waste” [al-Baqara: 143]—meaning your prayers toward Jerusalem.