Does Praying Without Wudu Make One Leave the Fold of Islam?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I was reading an article, and it is said that if you perform the prayer but have not done wudu, you are not in a state of purity. You have left Islam because you are mocking and disregarding the Sharia. The article said that some scholars say that it takes you out of Islam, while some scholars say it doesn’t take you out of Islam, but you have committed a sin. I have done prayer without wudu. Does this make me a kafir?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
A Muslim who intentionally leaves his prayer due to laziness while recognizing that it is obligatory is not considered a disbeliever. This also goes for leaving the obligatory fast, giving the zakat, and performing Hajj for whoever can.
However, if one neglects the prayer, likewise the fasting, Zakat, and Haj has openly sinned (fisq) and has committed a sin from the major sins; thus, he must repent to Allah Most High and seek His forgiveness while repeating his missed prayers, even if they are many.
The Hanafis have provided evidence for their school of thought (madhab). It is the opinion of the vast majority of the ummah that the person who neglects his prayer intentionally has not committed kufr. The following aya attests to this.
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him in worship but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has indeed committed a grave sin.” [Quran, 4:48]
Allah Most High forgives all sins of whoever he wants besides associating partners with Him; thus, leaving the prayer intentionally is a sin below shirk and is not considered shirk.
Whoever Abandons the Prayer Commits Disbelief
Buraydah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed disbelief (Kufr).” [Tirmidhi]
Such narrations aim to prompt fear in a person and do not imply that someone has left the folds of Islam.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Related Answers
- Prayer Reader: The Ultimate Guide To Prayer in Islam – SeekersGuidance
- Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
