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It is difficult for him to pray because his work is hard
Question: Do you call one who prays Salaah 1 or 2 or 3 times a day a kaafir ? It is not easy for normal humans to pray 5 times a day as even Prophet Musa during Mi'raj said it would be difficult for our Prophet's ummah to fulfill this. But he still said we are from his ummah. And we have belief in the articles of faith. But we do not get paid to pray like Imaams or paid to be scholars and do Islamic research. We have families and children who we look after and work 12 hours a day toiling in physical and mental activities to earn bread and so it is hard to fulfill all salaahs out of tiredness. Do you still consider us to be kaafirs even though we pray some of the salaah and pay zakaah and fast in Ramadan and believe in the articles of faith ? This is very important for me to know.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has enjoined upon His slaves five prayers every day, day and night. He has commanded them to observe these prayers regularly and establish them, and He praises those who do so. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And perform As-Salaat (Iqaamat-as-Salaat), and give Zakaat, and bow down (or submit yourselves with obedience to Allaah) along with Ar‑Raaki‘oon (those who bow or submit themselves to Allaah)” [al-Baqarah 2:43]
“Guard strictly (five obligatory) As‑Salawaat (the prayers) especially the middle Salaat (i.e. the best prayer ‑ ‘Asr). And stand before Allaah with obedience [and do not speak to others during the Salaat (prayers)]” [al-Baqarah 2:238]
“Successful indeed are the believers.
Those who offer their Salaat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness” [al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2]
“And those who strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawaat (prayers) (at their fixed stated hours).” [al-Mu’minoon 23:9]
So you have to pay attention to establishing regular prayer and keeping it up, and focusing on it, and taking the specific means of achieving that, so that you may be one of the successful. Do not worry yourself by thinking about the ruling on one who misses one or two prayers and whether he is a kaafir or not.
Whoever deliberately misses a prayer exposes himself to the wrath of Allaah, and the wise believer does not do something which he knows could result in punishment, even if it is not kufr as such. The five daily prayers, and all other acts of worship, and avoiding what is forbidden – none of this can be achieved except with patience. These are things which people find difficult by nature, because they come between a person and some of his desires.The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Paradise is surrounded by things which are disliked.” The issue of prayer in Islam is very important. Hence the responsible adult is not let off prayer for as long as he is alive and he is in his right mind. But Allaah has made things easier for His slaves with regard to the duty of praying. He allows us to join prayers and shorten them whilst travelling, and He allows us to join prayers when we are not travelling if not doing so will cause greater hardship. He allows the sick person to pray according to what he can do, standing, sitting or lying on his side. Hence we know that being busy earning a living is not an excuse for not praying. But if there is some unusual hardship involved, it is permissible to pray Zuhr and ‘Asr together at the time of either of them, and to pray Maghrib and ‘Isha’ together at the time of either of them.
Allaah commanded us to stop trading in order to pray Jumu’ah (Friday prayers), and He praised those who do not let trades or sales divert them from the remembrance of Allaah. So strive to do the prayers on time and in congregation. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Praying in congregation is twenty-seven times better than praying alone.”
Note that praying regularly is one of the greatest means of attaining the mercy of Allaah and His pleasure and His Paradise, which is the main goal.It is also a means of making earning one’s provision easier, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And enjoin al-salaah (the prayer) on your family, and bepatient in offering them[i.e., the prayers].We ask not of you a provision (i.e., to give Us something: money, etc.); We provide for you. And the good end (i.e., Paradise) is for the muttaqoon (pious).”
[Ta-Ha 20:132]
The Muslim does not ask people for any reward for his worhip of his Lord. He prays for Allaah, he fasts for Allaah, he does Hajj for Allaah, and he hopes for the reward of Allaah. When you say we do not get get paid to pray like the imaams, this is a mistake in your way of thinking. It is not permissible for the imaam to take a salary for doing the prayers; imaams and muezzins are being paid for doing a job which requires them to to be present at the mosque every time (so that they can devote their time to doing their duties of leading prayers, giving khutbahs, issuing fatwas and judging between people). But it is better for a Muslim to fulfil the duties of an imaam or muezzin voluntarily, hoping for the reward of Allaah.
When you say we have families, children, etc… this is not an excuse for missing some of the prayers. You have to devote some of your time to doing the prayers. It is only a small amount of time, for each prayer, doing it and preparing for it, does not take more than a quarter of an hour. If you do give up some of the prayers because you are too busy seeking provision, we will not confirm that you are a kaafir, but we will say that you are a sinner who is committing a major sin. We have already stated above that in cases of unusual difficulty you can put Zuhr and ‘Asr together at the time of either of them,. We also remind you that it is essential to pray fajr at the right time, which is from the start of dawn until the sun rises.
May Allaah help us and you to obey Him.
Posts: 1007 | From: http://www.sultan.org | Registered: Mar 2006
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Question: I used to read Qur’aan every day but I did not pray. I heard some people say that it is haraam for a person who does not pray to read Qur’aan, so I stopped reading Qur’aan. Is this right? Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Prayer is the greatest pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a person and kufr and shirk stands the abandonment of prayer.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2766. Classed as saheeh by Ibn Maajah, 1078, and by al-Albaani).
Salaah is so called because it is a connection (silah) between a person and his Lord. Whoever does not pray, his zakaah, fasting, Hajj, jihaad, enjoining of what is good, forbidding of what is evil, reading of Qur’aan and upholding of family ties will not be accepted. Indeed, all his good deeds will be rejected if he does not pray.
The scholars, including Imaam Ahmad, said that whoever does not pray should be executed as a kaafir, and his body should not be washed or shrouded, the funeral prayer should not be offered over him, he should not be buried in the Muslims’ graveyard and his Muslim heirs cannot inherit from him.
It is not permissible for you to abandon prayer, because you never know when death will catch you unawares.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said at the end of his life, during his final sickness:
“(Adhere to) prayer, (adhere to) prayer and (take care of) those whom your right hands possess (i.e., slaves).”
(Narrated by Imaam Ahmad, 3/117; Ibn Maajah, 2697; Ibn Hibbaan, 1220. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwaa’, no.2178).
Prayer is the pillar of Islam. Imaam Ahmad said: Your share of Islam is according to your share of prayer. What we want for you is for you to pray regularly, doing the prayers on time with the Muslims in their mosques. It is haraam for you to abandon prayer, for abandoning it is kufr. This issue has been discussed in great detail by the scholars in their books. And it was said that (the one who abandons prayer) is to be executed as a punishment, as is well known. And Allaah knows best. source http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=10094&ln=eng&txt=prayPosts: 1007 | From: http://www.sultan.org | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
The scholars have some opinions about man who abandons praying. Some say s/he is Kaffir and others say he is commiting a major sin.
If you want to tell people about Islam , you must begin with the fundamentals of Islam which is Oness of God. Then After they agree and believe the oness. Tell them That God mandate 5 prayer on them they Must give.
Posts: 1007 | From: http://www.sultan.org | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by sultan.org(In Makka not here ): The scholars, including Imaam Ahmad, said that whoever does not pray should be executed as a kaafir, and his body should not be washed or shrouded, the funeral prayer should not be offered over him, he should not be buried in the Muslims’ graveyard and his Muslim heirs cannot inherit from him. ...
And it was said that (the one who abandons prayer) is to be executed as a punishment, as is well known.
The ones who should be executed are those who instill fear and terror of God instead of love into peoples' hearts with fatwas like this. Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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