Question:

Assalaamu’alaikum Sheikh Sajid. I am someone who is not regular with salaah and have been told that this is disbelief. Is this true? I really regret it and want to change, and have been trying for a long time. Please make D’uaa for me.

 

Answer:

باسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وأصحبه ومن والاه

Wa alaykumus salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, my dear brother,

May Allah Almighty protect us all. Ameen.

Akhil Kareem (honourable brother), the regret that you are feeling and the fact that you have written in, indicates to me that this is a sign of your belief alhamdulillah. It is something you should take pride in and use to effect your progress and change for the better.

Salaah, my dear brother, is a pillar of Islam that must be protected irrespective of circumstance. The evidences for this are countless, well established and authoritative. I sense from your writing that you have understood this point alhamdulillah. My advice to you would be, instead of *trying* to become regular with salaah, just *become* regular and punctual with your Salaah. Sometimes the problem is, we *try* but we don’t necessarily *do*, and with Salaah, since it is a great obligation for us, we must do it – it is not a matter of ‘if we can or can’t’, we just should.

I fondly recall the advice of my father (may Allah Almighty preserve him) whilst growing up, in which he described certain things in life as being from those matters that we should just do, without waiting for someone to tell us to do it and without us contemplating it. He described them as matters that have to be done period, irrespective of circumstance. Indeed salaah is from these matters.

May Allah preserve all our parents in His obedience and shower mercy on all those parents who have returned to Allah Almighty. Aameen.

With regards to your point on disbelief; The majority of scholars, view the Islam of a person who observes Salaah sometimes, and leaves Salaah sometimes, as intact. He is still considered a believer. This is the view of the Hanafi, Maaliki and Shaafi’i school of thought. It is also a view in the Hanbali school of thought.

This is also the chosen view of the erudite scholar Abu alAbbaas ibn Taymiyya (May Allah Almighty shower His mercy upon him) as is clearly documented in his book titled (alFataawaa alKubraa), in which he also sadly describes neglect with Salaah as a norm of many during the 7th century of Islam. May Allah forgive us.

It must be noted thought that every scholar that has discussed this matter has actually cited a person who lacks diligence with his/her Salaah as someone who is treading a dangerous path, which carries severe consequences. May Allah Almighty protect us from even spending a split second in the hell-fire, aameen.

This view is substantiated by a collective study and understanding of all the evidences related to this matter. From them is the following narration in which and I sincerely request you to ponder over especially during your mend.

The Prophet ﷺ is also reported to have said:

“Allah has prescribed five daily prayers upon His slaves. Whoever diligently looks after them has a covenant with Allah, that Allah will enter him into paradise. And whoever does not diligently look after them; will not have a covenant with Allah. If He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills He will enter him into paradise.

And Allah Almighty knows best.

Dear brother, before I end off, I would like to draw your attention to all encompassing mercy of Allah Almighty. His mercy is vast and you are not beyond Allah Almighty’s mercy. Every breath we breath is a chance for us to turn back to Allah Almighty. So stand up confidently and turn to Allah and seek forgiveness whilst having great hope in Allah Almighty and change for the better for Allah Almighty’s sake. Do not let shaitaan (the devil) or anyone else shift you towards thinking otherwise. Correct your ways and have good hope in Allah that Allah Almighty will not just grant you Jannah (paradise), but the greatest paradise! Indeed Allah Almighty is upon all able.

To further help you establish the prayer, please view the following links that teach us abstract benefits that the prayer can actually brings into our lives:

Salaah Teaches Us To Be Dynamic:

Salaah Develops Excellent Manners:

Salah develops unity:

Salah develops focus:

Salah develops leadership and team skills:

May Allah Almighty grant us the understand, forgive our past and inspire our futures. Ameen.

I pray this short piece clarifies and is a means of assisting you. Please feel free to keep in touch and continue letting me know how I can further assist.

Baarakallahufeekum (May Allah Almighty bless you)

Your brother,
Sajid Umar