Abandoning Prayers

The Ruling on Abandoner of Prayer – حكم تارك الصلاة

Short Answer:

If a person abandons prayers out of denial (إنكار وجحود) and arrogance, such a person is a kafir by agreement of all scholars.

If a person abandons prayers out of negligence and laziness ( تهاونا وكسلا), the scholars disagree:

They majority of scholars say it is minor disbelief (كفر أصغر), a minority says its major disbelief (كفر أكبر).

The view of the majority of scholars is that a person who abandons prayers out of negligence and laziness is still a believer, but a sinner.

LONG ANSWER & EVIDENCING:

1- The Prophet said:
الْعَهْدُ الَّذِي بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمُ الصَّلاَةُ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا فَقَدْ كَفَرَ
“The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it he has committed disbelief.”
[“Tirmidhi”, 2621 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2621

2- The Prophet said:
بَيْنَ الْكُفْرِ وَالإِيمَانِ تَرْكُ الصَّلاَةِ
“Between disbelief and faith is abandoning the prayer.”
[“Tirmidhi”, 2618 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2618

3- Abdullah bin Shaqiq Al-‘Uqayli:
كَانَ أَصْحَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاَ يَرَوْنَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الأَعْمَالِ تَرْكُهُ كُفْرٌ غَيْرَ الصَّلاَةِ
“The Companions of Muhammad (ﷺ) didn’t consider leaving anything to be disblief except for the prayer.”
[“Tirmidhi”, 2622 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2622

A minority took this literally, and said this is major disbelief, which places a person out of the religion, even if just one prayer is left out of laziness.

The majority of scholars, understood this as minor disbelief, which does not take a person out of the fold of Islam, like these Ahadith:

1- The Prophet said:
قِتَالُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كُفْرٌ
“Fighting a believer is Kufr (disbelief).”
[“Nasai”, 4113 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/nasai:4113

2- The Prophet said:
لَيْسَ مِنْ رَجُلٍ ادَّعَى لِغَيْرِ أَبِيهِ وَهْوَ يَعْلَمُهُ إِلاَّ كَفَرَ
“If somebody claims to be the son of any other than his real father knowingly, he disbelieves in Allah.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 3508].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3508

3- The Prophet said:
لاَ تَرْغَبُوا عَنْ آبَائِكُمْ فَمَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ فَهُوَ كُفْرٌ ‏”‏
“Do not detest your fathers; he who detested his father committed infidelity.”
[“Sahih Muslim”, 62].
https://sunnah.com/muslim:62

4- The Prophet said:
‏ لاَ تَرْجِعُوا بَعْدِي كُفَّارًا، يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمْ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ
“Do not revert to disbelief after me by striking (cutting) the necks of one another.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 7077].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7077

5- The Prophet said:
لاَ يَزْنِي الزَّانِي حِينَ يَزْنِي وَهْوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلاَ يَشْرَبُ الْخَمْرَ حِينَ يَشْرَبُ وَهْوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلاَ يَسْرِقُ حِينَ يَسْرِقُ وَهْوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلاَ يَنْتَهِبُ نُهْبَةً يَرْفَعُ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهِ فِيهَا أَبْصَارَهُمْ وَهْوَ مُؤْمِنٌ
“When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it; and when somebody drinks an alcoholic drink, then he is not believer at the time of drinking, and when a thief steals, he is not a believer at the time when he is stealing; and when a robber robs and the people look at him, then he is not a believer at the time of doing it.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 6772].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6772

6- The Prophet said:
“‏ مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ مُوسَى فِي حَدِيثِهِ ‏”‏ فَصَدَّقَهُ بِمَا يَقُولُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ اتَّفَقَا ‏”‏ أَوْ أَتَى امْرَأَةً ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ مُسَدَّدٌ ‏”‏ امْرَأَتَهُ حَائِضًا أَوْ أَتَى امْرَأَةً ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ مُسَدَّدٌ ‏”‏ امْرَأَتَهُ فِي دُبُرِهَا فَقَدْ بَرِئَ مِمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ ‏”‏
“If anyone resorts to a diviner and believes in what he says (according) to the version of Musa), or has intercourse with his wife (according to the agreed version) when she is menstruating, or has intercourse with his wife through her anus, he has nothing to do with what has been sent down to Muhammad.”
[“Abu Dawud”, 3904 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:3904

7- The Prophet said:
اثْنَتَانِ فِي النَّاسِ هُمَا بِهِمْ كُفْرٌ الطَّعْنُ فِي النَّسَبِ وَالنِّيَاحَةُ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ
“Two (things) are found among men which are tantamount to unbelief: slandering one’s lineage and lamentation on the dead.”
[“Sahih Muslim”, 67].
https://sunnah.com/muslim:67

8- The Prophet said:
وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ، وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ، وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ ‏”‏‏.‏ قِيلَ وَمَنْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏”‏ الَّذِي لاَ يَأْمَنُ جَارُهُ بَوَايِقَهُ
“By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!” It was said, “Who is that, O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)?” He said, “That person whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 6016].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6016

9- The Prophet said:
لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ ‏
“None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”
[“Tirmidhi”, 2515 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/urn/727000

10- The Prophet said:
أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مُسْلِمٍ أَكْفَرَ رَجُلاً مُسْلِمًا فَإِنْ كَانَ كَافِرًا وَإِلاَّ كَانَ هُوَ الْكَافِرَ
“If any believing man calls another believing man an unbeliever, if he is actually an infidel, it is all right ; if not, he will become an infidel.”
[“Abu Dawud”, 4687 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4687

——————————————

What indicates that the first 3 Ahadith about the Kufr of leaving prayer are minor kufr, is the following Hadith:

The Prophet said:
خَمْسُ صَلَوَاتٍ كَتَبَهُنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ فَمَنْ جَاءَ بِهِنَّ لَمْ يُضَيِّعْ مِنْهُنَّ شَيْئًا اسْتِخْفَافًا بِحَقِّهِنَّ كَانَ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَهْدٌ أَنْ يُدْخِلَهُ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَأْتِ بِهِنَّ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَهْدٌ إِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ أَدْخَلَهُ الْجَنَّةَ
“There are five prayers which Allah has prescribed on His servants. If anyone offers them, not losing any of them, and not treating them lightly, Allah guarantees that He will admit him to Paradise. If anyone does not offer them, Allah does not take any responsibility for such a person. He may either punish him or admit him to Paradise.”
[“Abu Dawud”, 1420 – صحيح ].
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:1420

If it was kufr akbar, the person would not be admitted to Paradise.

And this is what the Ummah agreed upon:

Ibn Taymiyah Hanbali said:
لم يعلم انم أحدا من تاركي الصلاة ترك غسله والصلاة عليه ودفنه مع المسلمين ولا منع ورثته ميراثه ولا إهدار دمه بسبب ذلك مع كثرة تاركي الصلاة في كل عصر والأمة لا تجتمع على ضلالة
“It is not known that the funeral washing of anyone was abandoned due to his abandonment of prayer, nor was anyone prevented from getting buried among the Muslimeen for this reason, nor was inheritance withheld from his relatives, nor was any blood shed due to this – despite the huge prevalence of negligence in prayer in every era.
The Ummah cannot unite on misguidance.”
[“Sharh al-Umdah”, 1/92].

Ibn Qudamah Hanbali said:
ولأن ذلك إجماع المسلمين ، فإنا لا نعلم في عصر من الأعصار أحدا من تاركي الصلاة ترك تغسيله ، والصلاة عليه ، ودفنه في مقابر المسلمين ، ولا منع ورثته ميراثه ، ولا منع هو ميراث مورثه ، ولا فرق بين زوجين لترك الصلاة من أحدهما ; مع كثرة تاركي الصلاة ، ولو كان كافرا لثبتت هذه الأحكام كلها
“This is the consensus of the Muslims.
I don’t know of any area in which even one person left the ablution, prayer, or burial in the Muslim cemetery – about a dead person who left prayer!
Nor that anyone would inherit from such a person, nor was anyone ever divorced from his wife for failing to pray from one of them!
And this despite the amount of prayers that are left!
If such a person were unbelieving, all these rules would have been applied to him.”
[“Al-Mughni”, 3/357].

Acting on the other view is abandoned by the Ummah.

Allaahu A’lam