Chapter: The Ruling Regarding One Who Abandons Prayer

329 - Issue: He said: (And whoever abandons prayer while being an adult of sound mind, whether denying its obligation or not denying it, shall be called to it at the time of every prayer for three days. If he prays, [he is left alone]; otherwise, he is killed.)

The summary of this is that the one who abandons prayer must be one of two types: either he denies its obligation, or he does not. If he denies its obligation, his case is considered: if he is ignorant of it—and he is from among those who might be ignorant of such things, like someone new to Islam or one who grew up in the desert—he is to be informed of its obligation and taught, and no ruling of disbelief is passed upon him because he is excused. But if he is not from among those who could be ignorant of such things, such as one who grew up among (1) the Muslims in cities and villages, he is not excused, his claim of ignorance is not accepted, and he is judged as a disbeliever. This is because the evidence for its obligation is manifest in the Book and the Sunnah, and Muslims perform it constantly, so its obligation is not hidden from one in such a state. Therefore, he only denies it by calling Allah the Exalted, His Messenger, and the consensus of the Ummah liars. This person becomes an apostate from Islam, and his ruling is the ruling of all other apostates regarding calling to repentance and execution, and I know of no disagreement concerning this. If he abandons it due to illness or inability to fulfill its pillars and conditions, he is told that this does not exempt one from prayer and that it is mandatory for him to pray according to his ability. If he abandons it out of negligence or laziness, he is called to perform it and is told: "If you pray, then fine; otherwise, we will kill you." If he prays, then fine; otherwise, it is mandatory to kill him. He is not killed until he has been imprisoned for three days, during which he is kept in restricted conditions, called to perform it at the time of every prayer, and threatened with execution. If he prays, then fine; otherwise, he is killed by the sword. This is the opinion of Malik, Hammad ibn Zayd, Waki', and al-Shafi'i. Al-Zuhri said: He is beaten and imprisoned. Abu Hanifah also held this view, saying: He is not killed, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The blood of a person is not lawful except in one of three cases: