al-Qawl al-Fasl fi Hukm Tarik al-Salah Amdan hatta yakhruj waqtuha
- Author died
- 1407 AH
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- al-Qawl al-Fasl fi Hukm Tarik al-Salah Amdan hatta yakhruj waqtuha
al-Qawl al-Fasl fi Hukm Tarik al-Salah Amdan hatta yakhruj waqtuha (The Decisive Word on the Ruling of One Who Deliberately Leaves Prayer Until Its Time Has Passed) is a legal treatise by the Moroccan scholar Muhammad Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (d. 1407 AH / 1987 CE) examining the legal status, creedal standing, and rulings regarding a person who intentionally abandons obligatory prayer beyond its prescribed time .
Background and Method
Al-Hilali composed the treatise in response to an inquiry regarding whether an individual who intentionally abandons obligatory prayer is an unbeliever (kafir) or merely a sinful Muslim ('asi), and what punishment the Sharia prescribes for such an act . To construct his argument, the author draws primarily on the work Kitab al-Salah by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, stating his intention to present and elucidate Ibn al-Qayyim's arguments in concise language accessible to contemporary readers and the general public, while adding further proofs and commentary .
Scriptural Proofs and the Definition of Faith
The treatise begins by detailing ten textual proofs from the Quran demonstrating that deliberately abandoning prayer constitutes major disbelief (kufr), followed by al-Hilali's explanatory commentary :
- Passages contrasting Muslims with criminals (al-mujrimun), such as verses from Surah al-Qalam ( أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ [68:35–43]), where criminals are prevented from prostrating on the Day of Resurrection because they refused to prostrate in the worldly life .
- Passages detailing the dwellers of Hellfire (Saqar) in Surah al-Muddaththir ([74:38–47]), whose first stated offense is: لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ ("We were not of those who prayed") .
- Verses establishing conditions for receiving divine mercy (Surah al-Nur [24:56]) and religious brotherhood (Surah al-Tawbah [9:11]), indicating that brotherhood in religion is contingent upon establishing prayer .
- Verses warning those heedless of prayer (Surah al-Ma'un [107:4–5]), which early authorities interpreted as delaying it until its designated time expires, as well as warnings in Surah Maryam ([19:59–60]), Surah al-Qiyamah ([75:31–32]), Surah al-Munafiqun ([63:9]), Surah al-Sajdah ([32:15]), and Surah al-Mursalat ([77:48–49]) .
Alongside these verses, the work explores the nature of faith (iman), arguing that faith cannot be defined as mere mental assent (tasdiq) devoid of compliance and outward action . It notes that figures such as Iblis, Pharaoh, and Abu Talib acknowledged the truth intellectually but remained outside faith due to their failure to submit and obey .
Hadith and the Consensus of the Predecessors
The text presents twelve prophetic narrations establishing the disbelief of the one who neglects prayer, citing:
- The hadith of Jabir ibn Abd Allah: بين الرجل وبين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاة ("Between a man and polytheism and disbelief is the abandonment of prayer") .
- The hadith of Burayda: العهد الذي بيننا وبينهم الصلاة فمن تركها فقد كفر ("The covenant between us and them is prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved") .
- The hadith of Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As stating that whoever does not maintain prayer will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection alongside Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf .
- Additional narrations through Ubada ibn al-Samit, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Abu al-Darda', Abd Allah ibn Umar, Anas ibn Malik, and Mihjan ibn al-Adra' indicating the dissolution of Allah's protection (dhimmah) and that prayer is the defining marker of Islam .
Al-Hilali rejects the view that these texts denote minor disbelief (kufr duna kufr), arguing that the strong phrasing—such as "exited the religion" and the loss of divine protection—precludes such interpretation . He cites the consensus of the Companions, highlighting Umar ibn al-Khattab's declaration after being mortally stabbed: لا حظ في الإسلام لمن ترك الصلاة ("There is no share in Islam for one who abandons prayer"), uttered before the Companions without objection . He also records reports from subsequent authorities, including Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh .
Excusable Omission and Making Up Prayers
The treatise distinguishes between excusable omissions and deliberate neglect:
- Excused omission: A person who sleeps through a prayer or forgets it incurs no sin and is commanded to perform it upon waking or remembering, in accordance with the prophetic hadith: من نسي صلاة، أو نام عنها، فكفارتها أن يصليها إذا ذكرها ("Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers it") .
- Intentional abandonment: For one who intentionally misses a prayer until its time has fully passed, al-Hilali argues that making it up (qada') is neither valid nor accepted . He cites the testament of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq to Umar: إن لله حقا بالنهار لا يقبله بالليل وحقا بالليل لا يقبله بالنهار ("Allah has a right by day that He does not accept by night, and a right by night that He does not accept by day"), as well as statements from Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud comparing prayer times to the fixed timing of Hajj .
Al-Hilali addresses the hadith of 'Ubada ibn al-Samit regarding the five prayers—which mentions that whoever does not fulfill them remains subject to Allah's will to either punish or forgive—and presents seven responses to show it does not refute the kufr of the abandoner . Among these points, he argues that explicit sahih narrations in Sahih Muslim take precedence over general or lower-tier reports, that specific texts of kufr outnumber and qualify general texts, that the Companions held a consensus on this ruling, and that the obligation of the fear prayer (Salat al-Khawf) during active combat demonstrates that prayer cannot be delayed beyond its time even under life-threatening circumstances .
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