Section
When someone refuses to pray, calling upon him to repent entails allowing him until the prayer’s prescribed time has elapsed. For this purpose, the time for the noon and afternoon prayers extends until sunset; for the dawn prayer, until sunrise; and for the sunset and night prayers, until dawn.
Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh said: “They have reached a consensus concerning prayer on something upon which they have not agreed concerning the other religious obligations: if someone known to be a disbeliever is subsequently seen performing prayer at its prescribed time, and performs many prayers at their appointed times, he is judged to be a believer even though he is not known to have verbally affirmed Allah’s oneness. This is unlike fasting, zakat, and pilgrimage.” He means—and Allah knows best—that just as performing prayer establishes his status as a believer and a Muslim, abandoning it likewise establishes his status as a disbeliever and an apostate. This is also the position of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: no one among those who face the Muslim direction of prayer is deemed a disbeliever for committing a sin, except for deliberately abandoning prayer.
Those who hold this position base their argument on the apparent meanings of the reports from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, declaring those who abandon prayer to be disbelievers. These include his statements:
“Whoever abandons prayer, his deeds are rendered void.”
“Between a person and disbelief—or, he said, associating partners with Allah—lies nothing but the abandonment of prayer.”
“Whoever abandons prayer will be gathered with Hāmān and Pharaoh.”
“Whoever prays as we pray and faces our direction of prayer is a Muslim under Allah’s protection. Whoever refuses is a disbeliever and must pay the jizyah (poll tax).”
Ibn Habīb said: “Whoever abandons prayer through negligence, denial, or disregard is a disbeliever by virtue of abandoning it. The same applies to its companion obligations: fasting, zakat, and pilgrimage.” His evidence is the apparent meanings of the reports concerning prayer already mentioned, together with the statement of Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him: “By Allah, I will fight anyone who distinguishes between prayer and zakat.” Ibn Habīb alone held this view among all the scholars.
The second position is that held by Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and most scholars: someone who abandons prayer and refuses to perform it while acknowledging its obligation is not a disbeliever, but he is executed for one of