Ruling by other than Allaah

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

Are the scholarly differences concerning one who does not pray and ruling by laws other than those revealed by Allaah to be taken into account?

Question:
I was told in the time of the Salaaf they would differ on issues such as the one who did not perform prayer and the on the one who ruled by laws other than what Allah has revealed, is it true this is called Khilaf Al Mu`tabar (A difference which is taken into consideration)?. If the Salaaf did differ may I please ask whom of the Salaaf differed on both of these issues? May Allaah increase you my beloved shaykh in good and give you the ultimate reward, heaven with the messenger of Allah (Sal`Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam).

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

There are differences between the Islamic madhhabs whose views may be taken into consideration concerning the ruling on one who does not pray. The dispute is only with regard to the one who does not deny that the prayer is obligatory. The person who denies that prayer is obligatory is definitely a kaafir. The majority of the Salaf, of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, were of the view that the person who does not pray is a kaafir, because of the saheeh texts which clearly state that. The dispute arose after their time, but the scholars who examined this issue said that the opinion stated is the more sound view, that the person who does not pray is guilty of major kufr which puts him beyond the pale of Islam. This is the opinion according to which fatwas are issued nowadays.

With regard to ruling according to laws other than those revealed by Allaah, whilst acknowledging that the ruling of Allaah is more complete and more perfect, and more beneficial to mankind than any other (law), a group of scholars said that this is a lesser form of kufr. But giving preference to man-made laws and giving them precedence over the laws (sharee’ah) of Allaah, and believing that the laws of Allaah are not suitable for our times, for example, this is a form of major kufr which puts a person beyond the pale of Islam. The dispute among the scholars in this case has to do with the person who judges according to laws other than those revealed by Allaah, whilst still believing that the laws of Allaah are more perfect and more fitting – is he guilty of major kufr or a lesser form of kufr? Because Allaah has described those who rule according to laws other than His in different ways, sometimes as kaafirs, sometimes as faasiqoon (evildoers), sometimes as zaalimoon (wrongdoers). This is to be interpreted either as referring to different cases in which people rule according to laws other than those revealed by Allaah, or as meaning one and the same thing, because the kaafir is also a faasiq and a zaalim.



Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareen al-Khudayr

[waziri]

Asalamualaykum,

I have asked two shaykhs the question about the one who does not pray,one a hanafi and the other a salafi and both told me that the majority view is that he is still a muslim (as long as he considers the prayer obligatory),and that the minority view is that he is a kaafir.

So what I want to know is that if the majority of the Sahaba(ra)regarded the one who abandons salah to be a kaafir then how is it a minority view(according to the ulema i asked).

wasalam

ps both of those I asked are well known and respected.(The hanafis respect the hanafi I asked and the salafis respect the salafi I asked)

[ykhan]

Asalamualaykum,

I have asked two shaykhs the question about the one who does not pray,one a hanafi and the other a salafi and both told me that the majority view is that he is still a muslim (as long as he considers the prayer obligatory),and that the minority view is that he is a kaafir.

So what I want to know is that if the majority of the Sahaba(ra)regarded the one who abandons salah to be a kaafir then how is it a minority view(according to the ulema i asked).

wasalam

ps both of those I asked are well known and respected.(The hanafis respect the hanafi I asked and the salafis respect the salafi I asked)

As salaamu alaykum akhi,

I have attached the arabic pg 67 of Imaam Ibn ul Qayyim' s book "As Salaat wa hukmu taarkihaa" [The prayer and the ruling on its abandoment], where Ibn ul Qayyim shows in authentic narrations that the ijmaa' [consensus] of the Companions was the OPPOSITE of what those two shaykhs told you i.e. a nullification of a person's Islam.

Ibn ul Qayyim says though, in the same book, that "ruling by other than Allah's laws and abandoning prayer" is complete kufr in actions and not apostacy in and of itself [ to paraphrase ].

I will scan these pages to and paste them later insha'Allah.

Wallahu Aalam.

[ykhan]

This is page 82 of the same book by Imaam Ibn ul Qayyim rahimahullah.

This chapter deals with the "ascription" of kufr to an action.

Please excuse and correct me insha'Allah, as I am still in the early early stages of learning Arabic....!! [ help please ]

Ibn ul Qayyim starts by explaining than in Islam kufr is divided into two categories;

1. kufru 'amalin [ actions of disbelief ]

2. kufru juhoodin [ disbelief of rejection/denial ]

He then explains that the second category of "kufru juhoodin" is to reject/deny/turn away from anything that the Messenger, sallallahu alayhu was salaam, came with [ from matters of the Deen ] such as the names of Allah, or the attributes of Allah, or the actions of Allah and this is the kufr which expels a person from belief from every angle [i.e. MAJOR kufr ..!!].

[ May Allah protect us all from ALL types of kufr. ]

Then Imaam Ibn ul Qayyim discusses the kufr of actions;

He first explains [ refuting the murji'a ] that there are actions of kufr which expels a person from the fold of Islam and those that do not [ i.e actions of minor kufr and actions of apostacy ].

Then he gives some examples of actions of apostacy like prostrating to an idol, or abusing the mus-haf [ a written copy of the Qur'aan ], or killing a Prophet, or cursing a Prophet.

My apologies akhi, but unlike say akhi Abu- Zubair and others, I don't have any way near the ability to translate arabic yet, but I just thought I would mention the general meaning of the page that attached to this post for those who can't read at all as I used to HATE when brothers post arabic only posts on an ENGLISH forum....!

May Allah rectify my affairs and grant me success to learn arabic to a competent level one day.

Wallahu masta'aan.

[waziri]

Asalamualaykum,

JzakAllah khair akhi YKhan for that.

The shaykhs who answered my question didnt say that the majority of the Sahaba(ra) didnt regard the one who abandons prayer to be a kaafir,just that the majority view is that he is still a muslim.

So I dont understand why if the sahaba(ra)were in agreement on the matter why the majority of ulema have said that the one who stops praying is still a believer as long as he considers it an obligation and realises that he is sinfull.

wasalam

[ykhan]

Asalamualaykum,

JzakAllah khair akhi YKhan for that.

The shaykhs who answered my question didnt say that the majority of the Sahaba(ra) didnt regard the one who abandons prayer to be a kaafir,just that the majority view is that he is still a muslim.


Oh yes, I misread that.

I do dispute however,that is it the "majority" opinion, due to what I have now read from Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn ul Qayyim.

I will try to post some more extracts from the book to illustrate this insha'Allah.

So I dont understand why if the sahaba(ra)were in agreement on the matter why the majority of ulema have said that the one who stops praying is still a believer as long as he considers it an obligation and realises that he is sinfull.

There are evidences for both positions and Imaam Ibn ul Qayyim makes separate chapters for the evidence for each opposing opinion.

As yet, however I haven't finished the book, so I can't tell you his conclusions yet, and I do not hold it permissible or desirable to just "skim" through Islamic books like some people do.

These are very serious topics, so much so, that the Greatest Scholars like Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Imaam ibn ul Qayyim have spent all their lives meticulously authoring works for our benefit on these topics. So I feel it a duty to read their works and thereby benefit from them if Allah has BLESSED with with ability to.

Wallahu masta'aan

[Abu Hafsa]

The following passage is taken from the arabic book A'amaal Tukhrij Saahabuha Minal Millah. And contains some evidences regarding this matter and what some people of knowlege stated.

[Abu Hafsa]

ومن الأدلة كذلك الدالة على كفر تارك الصلاة قوله (صلى الله عليه وسلم) :" بين الرجل وبين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاة " مسلم. أي بينه وبين الوقوع في الكفر والشرك ترك الصلاة، فإذا ترك الصلاة وقع في الكفر والشرك وأصبح كافراً مشركاً. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" ليس بين العبد وبين الكفر إلا ترك الصلاة "(1). <o:p></o:p>

وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" بين الكفر والإيمان ترك الصلاة "(2). والحديث فيه دليل على تسمية الأعمال إيماناً. <o:p></o:p>
وقال(صلى الله عليه وسلم):" العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة، فمن تركها فقد كفر"(3). <o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" بين العبد وبين الكفر والإيمان الصلاة، فإذا تركها فقد أشرك "(4). <o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" لا تترك الصلاة متعمداً فإنه من ترك الصلاة متعمداً فقد برئت منه ذمة الله ورسوله "(5).<o:p></o:p>
ـــــــــــــــــــ <o:p></o:p>
(1) أخرجه النسائي، صحيح الترغيب:563. <o:p></o:p>
(2) أخرجه الترمذي، صحيح الترغيب:563. <o:p></o:p>
(3) أخرجه أحمد وغيره، صحيح الترغيب:564. (4) صحيح الترغيب:574. <o:p></o:p>
(5) أخرجه أحمد وغيره، صحيح الترغيب:569. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" من تركها متعمداً فقد خرج من الملة "(1). <o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" آخر ما يُفقد من الدين الصلاة ". <o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" آخر عرى الإسلام نقضاً الصلاة ". <o:p></o:p>
قال الإمام أحمد: كل شيء يذهب آخره فقد ذهب جميعه، فإذا ذهبت صلاة المرء ذهب دينه ا- هـ. <o:p></o:p>
وقال (صلى الله عليه وسلم):" ما من أمتي من أحدٍ إلا وأنا أعرفه يوم القيامة. فقالوا: وكيف تعرفهم يا رسول الله في كثرة الخلائق ؟! قال: أرأيت لو دخلت صِيرةً ـ حظيرة تُتخذ للدواب ـ فيها خيل دُهم بُهم ـ لونها أسود لا يُخالطها لون آخر ـ وفيها فرسٌ أغرَّ مُحجَّل ـ وهو الذي يرتفع البياض في قوائمه ـ أما كنتَ تعرفه منها ؟ قال: بلى، قال: فإن أمتي يومئذٍ غُرٌّ من السجود، محجلون من الوضوء "(2). <o:p></o:p>
قلت: أين تارك الصلاة ..؟! <o:p></o:p>
أفاد الحديث أن تارك الصلاة ليس من أمة محمد (صلى الله عليه وسلم) .. وليس ممن يتعرف عليهم من بين الناس؛ إذ العلامة للتعارف يومئذٍ الصلاة .. وآثار الصلاة على الوجوه والجباه. <o:p></o:p>
وفي الأثر فقد صح عن عمر بن الخطاب (رضي الله عنه) أنه قال:" لا حظّ في الإسلام لمن ترك الصلاة ". <o:p></o:p>
وعن ابن مسعود (رضي الله عنه) قال:" من ترك الصلاة فلا دين له ".<o:p></o:p>
ــــــــــــــــــ <o:p></o:p>
(1) قال الحافظ المنذري في الترغيب: رواه الطبري، ومحمد بن نصر في كتاب الصلاة بإسنادين لا بأس بهما.<o:p></o:p>
(2) أخرجه أحمد، السلسلة الصحيحة:2836. <o:p></o:p>
وعن أبي الدرداء (رضي الله عنه) قال:" لا إيمان لمن لا صلاة له، ولا صلاة لمن لا وضوء له ". <o:p></o:p>
وعن علي (رضي الله عنه) قال:" من لم يصل فهو كافر ". <o:p></o:p>
وعن جابر بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما قال:" من لم يصل فهو كافر ". <o:p></o:p>
وعن حماد بن زيد، عن أيوب قال:" ترك الصلاة كفر لا يُختلف فيه ". <o:p></o:p>
وعن عبد الله بن شقيق العقيلي قال:" كان أصحاب محمدٍ (صلى الله عليه وسلم) لا يرون شيئاً من الأعمال تركه كفر غير الصلاة ". <o:p></o:p>

قلت: والكفر هنا لا يجوز تأويله أو حمله على الكفر الأصغر بدليل أن الصحابة كانوا يرون كثيراً من الأعمال غير الصلاة كفراً أصغر أو كفراً دون كفر. <o:p></o:p>

قال ابن تيمية في الفتاوى 28/308: وأكثر السلف على أنه يُقتل كافراً، وهذا كله مع الإقرار بوجوبها ا- هـ. <o:p></o:p>

قال ابن حزم في المحلى: وقد جاء عن عمر، وعبد الرحمن بن عوف، ومعاذ بن جبل، وأبي هريرة، وغيرهم من الصحابة رضي الله عنهم أن من ترك صلاة فرض واحدة متعمداً حتى يخرج وقتها فهو كافر مرتد، ولا نعلم لهؤلاء من الصحابة مخالفاً ا- هـ. <o:p></o:p>

وقال الحافظ المنذري في الترغيب: قد ذهب جماعة من الصحابة ومن بعدهم إلى تكفير من ترك الصلاة متعمداً لتركها، حتى يخرج جميع وقتها، منهم: عمر بن الخطاب، وعبد الله بن مسعود، وعبد الله بن عباس، ومعاذ بن جبل، وجابر بن عبد الله، وأبو الدرداء رضي الله عنهم. <o:p></o:p>
ومن غير الصحابة أحمد بن حنبل، وإسحاق بن راهويه، وعبد الله بن المبارك، والنخعي، والحكم بن عتبة، وأيوب السختياني، وأبو داود الطيالسي، وأبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، وزهير بن حرب، وغيرهم رحمهم الله تعالى ا- هـ.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>

[ykhan]

The following passage is taken from the arabic book A'amaal Tukhrij Saahabuha Minal Millah. And contains some evidences regarding this matter and what some people of knowlege stated.

Jazaaka Allahu khairan akhi,

I have just found a link for the book on line so that will save me physicaly scanning the pages of my book.

the link is:

http://arabic.islamicweb.com/books/taimiya.asp?book=99

hmm...

I need glasses .......

[ykhan]

وأما الحكم بغير ما أنزل الله وترك الصلاة فهو من الكفر العملي قطعا ولا يمكن أن ينفي عنه اسم الكفر بعد أن اطلقه الله ورسوله عليه فالحاكم بغير ما انزل الله كافر وتارك الصلاة كافر بنص رسول الله ولكن هو كفر عمل لا كفر اعتقاد ومن الممتنع أن يسمي الله سبحانه الحاكم بغير ما انزل الله كافرا ويسمى رسول الله تارك الصلاة كافرا ولا يطلق عليهما اسم كافر وقد نفى رسول الله الإيمان عن الزاني والسارق وشارب الخمر وعمن لا يأمن جاره بوائقه وإذا نفي عنه اسم الإيمان فهو كافر من جهة العمل وانتفى عنه كفر الجحود والاعتقاد
وكذلك قوله لا ترجعوا بعدي كفارا يضرب بعضكم رقاب بعض البخاري رقم 1739 مسلم رقم 1679 فهذا كفر عمل
وكذلك قوله من أتى كاهنا فصدقه أو امرأة في دبرها فقد كفر بما

directly continued from previous post pg 82



Imaam Ibn ul Qayyim, rahimahullah, continues and explains that ruling by a legislation that has not been revealed by Allah and the abandonment of the Prayer are actions from the actions of certain kufr [ “ fa-hu-wa min-al kufr-il amli qat-’an ].

Then Ibn ul Qayyim explains that no one can deny/negate the labelling/naming of the word kufr to those actions, after Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhi was salaam, have both called those action kufr.

Then Ibn ul Qayyim explains that, ruling by a legislation that has not been revealed by Allah is kufr, and the abandonment of the Prayer is also kufr due to a [authentic ] text [ hadeeth ] of the Messenger, sallallahu alayhi was salaam, however it is the kufr of actions and not the kufr of beliefs [ wa laakin, hu-wa kufru amlin, laa- kufru ’itiqaadin ].

END QUOTE/PARAPHRASING

So you can start to see, by the last sentence [ wa laakin, hu-wa kufru amlin, laa- kufru ’itidaadin ], that a person may read that sentence and understand that Ibn ul Qayyim meant minor kufr because many people mistakenly think that all actions of kufr [ kufru amlin ] are only kufr doona kufr [ minor kufr ] and not major kufr, which was previously refuted by Imaam Ibn Qayyim in my previous above post.