Question :
A question was asked about the legal status of children whose mother does not pray.
Fatwa in Brief: The children of a mother
who does not pray are considered outside the realm of
Islamic law.
The Permanent Committee,
20/340
Response:
The fact that someone, man or
woman, or both, ceases to pray does not [automatically]
affect the legal validity of the marriage, providing
that all parties accept the obligatory nature of the
prayers. Likewise, the legal validity of relationship
between parents and child is also stable.
Commentary:
The husband that does not
pray is not [automatically] considered a non-believer by
any of the four Imams, and the majority of the People of
Knowledge, as long as he understands that these prayers
are a religious obligation. The same legal logic applies
to the woman who does not pray.
Ibn Qudama mentions, in
al-Mughni, that despite the number of people who
have neglected their prayers throughout the ages, not a
single Muslim judge has ever separated a Muslim man and
wife for this reason. It was never reported to us that
someone who had abandoned prayer was not washed, or
prayed over, or buried in Muslim cemeteries. Likewise,
there is no evidence suggesting that the Muslim who
stopped his/her prayers has been prohibited from
inheriting and bequeathing, or separated from their
spouse. Had they been judged non-believers, these
penalties would have applied.
Accordingly, the relationship
between a man and woman, when one or both partners
ceases to pray, is valid; and their marriage is free
from legal defect. Likewise, the legal validity of
relationship between parents and child is also stable.
[This point made] The person
who neglects to pray should be often advised to return
to prayer. S/he [the person who prays] should never
cease to encourage their partner in this matter, while
reminding them of the penalties for not doing so.
Likewise, s/he should surround him/her with decent and
morally refined people, who will lead him/her towards a
better path [s/he should remember that] friendship works
well in achieving this.
And God knows best.
Dr. Anas Abu Shadi
