Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 491
which one enters Islam, like the testimony of faith, so by not doing it
one exits ~slarn."'~ This ruling is supported by the words of the
Messenger of Allah (g): "Between a man and polytheism and
disbelief there stands his giving up prayer."71 Imam an-Nawawi said:
"The one who does not pray, if he denies that it is obligatory, then he
is a disbeliever according to the consensus of the Muslims, and he is
beyond the pale of Islam, unless he is new in Islam and has not mixed
with Muslims for long enough to have leamed that prayer is
obligatory for him."
If he does not pray because he is lazy, although he believes that
it is obligatory - as is the case with many people - then the
scholars differed concerning him. Milik and ash-ShZa'i (may Allah
have mercy on them) and the majority of the earlier and later scholars
were of the view that he is not a disbeliever; rather he is an evildoer
who should be asked to repent. If he repents, all well and good;
otherwise, he is to be executed as a hadd punishment, like the married
adulterer, except that he should be kiUed by the sword. On the other
hand, a number of the earlier generations were of the view that he is a
disbeliever. This was narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Titlib (&) and is
mentioned in one of the two reports from Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may
Allah have mercy on him). It was also the view of AbduUah ibn al-
Mubhk, Ishk ihn Raawayh and some of the followers of ash-
ShZa'i. Abu Haneefah and a number of the people of Kufah, as well
as al-Muzani, the companion of ashSh%aifa'i, were of the view that he
is not a disbeliever and is not to he executed; rather he should he
given a disciplinary punishment and imprisoned until he does pray.72
3. Repeating a prayer with its time
If a worshipper prays alone and then repeats the prayer within
its time in order to attain the virtue of praying in ~ongregation,~~ then
the first prayer is regarded as obligatory and the second is regarded as
supererogatory, according to 'Alj (&>). That was narrated from Ibn