The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) refrained from praying over even less than this: debt, ghulul (misappropriation of war booty), and the one who commits suicide. It was said: The Rafidi (one who rejects) should not be prayed over. Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash said: I do not pray over a Rafidi nor a Haruri (18). Al-Firyabi (19) said: Whoever insults Abu Bakr is a disbeliever and should not be prayed over (20). It was said to him: How should we treat him while he says: "There is no god but Allah"? He said: Do not touch him with your hands; lift him (21) using wooden poles until you bury him in his grave. Ahmad said: People of innovation (ahl al-bida') should not be visited if they fall ill, and their funerals should not be attended if they die. This is the opinion of Malik. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: The rest of the scholars pray over the people of innovation, the Khawarij, and others, due to the generality of his saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "Pray over whoever says: There is no god but Allah" (22). We argue that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) refrained from praying over those who committed lesser acts than this, so we are even more entitled to refrain from praying over them. Ibn Umar narrated that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Every nation has its Majus (Zoroastrians), and the Majus of my nation are those who say: There is no Qadar (divine decree). If they become ill, do not visit them, and if they die, do not attend their funerals." Narrated by Imam Ahmad (23).

Section: Prayer is not performed over the children of the polytheists, because they are subject to the same ruling as their parents, except for one whom we have ruled to be a Muslim—such as if one of his parents converts to Islam, or he dies, or he is taken captive while alone, separate from his parents or from one of them—for in that case, prayer is performed over him. Abu Thawr said regarding (24) the one who is taken captive with (25) one of his parents that prayer is not performed over him until he chooses Islam. We argue that he is ruled to be a Muslim, which is similar to the case of him being taken captive while alone and separated from them.