is prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved.”

Whoever does not believe that prayer is obligatory upon every sane person who has reached puberty, except women who are menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding, is a disbeliever and an apostate, by agreement of the leading scholars of the Muslims. Even if he believes that it is a righteous deed which Allah loves and rewards, and he himself prays, stands in prayer at night, and fasts during the day, yet does not believe it obligatory upon everyone who has reached puberty, he is likewise a disbeliever and an apostate until he believes that it is a binding obligation upon every sane person who has reached puberty.

Whoever believes that this obligation is waived for certain shaykhs who possess spiritual knowledge, receive unveilings, and have attained their goal; or that Allah has an elect upon whom prayer is not obligatory, but from whom its obligation has been lifted because they have reached the Sacred Presence, or because something more important or more worthy renders them independent of it; or that the purpose is for the heart to be present with the Lord; or that prayer disperses one's attention, so that when a servant is wholly concentrated upon Allah, he has no need of prayer—rather, the purpose of prayer is spiritual knowledge, and once that is attained, he no longer needs prayer, for the aim is for you to perform an extraordinary feat, such as flying through the air, walking on water, filling vessels with water from the air, making waters sink away and extracting the treasures beneath them, or killing someone he hates through satanic states, so that once he achieves this, he has no further need of prayer—and other such notions; or that Allah has certain members of His elect who do not need to follow Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but have become independent of him just as al-Khidr was independent of Moses; or that every