4 Proofs Why it is Not Haram For a Man to Pray at Home
C.J Ahmed-13.05.2023
Praying the congregational prayers I considered an obligation for a grownup Muslim man and not doing so I often frowned upon. We should understand that Islam is a very pragmatic and easy religion and it is not haram or a man to pray at home. The evidence that men can o not necessarily need to pray congregational prayer is in the below hadith,
(1). Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri (rali):
'A woman came to the Prophet (sal) while we were with him.
She said: Messenger of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn prayer until the sun rises.
He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had said. He replied: Messenger of Allah, as for her statement "he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs (during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so). He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during prayer), that is sufficient for the people. (Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes me break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I cannot restrain myself. The Messenger of Allah (sal) said on that day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of her husband. (Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is already known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer."
(Sunan Abu Dawud-Graded Sahih by Albani)
From this hadith it is clear that the prophet (sal) did not admonish the companion for not praying the fajr prayer before sunrise but instead told him to pray after sunrise. Nowadays, we see some Muslims calling Muslims as kafir if they are slack in their prayers and this is unfortunate because of the widespread ignorance of the Muslim community in the world. Hadiths such as,"Whoever abandons the prayer has disbelieved" (Tirmidhi with an authentic chain of narration) is similar to another hadith in which the prophet (sal) said,
"Insulting a Muslim is disobedience (to Allah), and fighting him is disbelief."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Now, I would like to ask the Muslim brothers and sisters who argue that the Muslim who abandons his five times prayers is a kafir and an apostate, what will you call a Muslim who will pick up a fight with another Muslim? Are you going to declare him a kafir too? if so, then almost every single Muslim will become an apostate. A Muslim who fights another Muslim is not a kafir because Allah (swt) says,
"And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah . And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.'
(Al-Quran-49:9)
In the above verse, Allah(swt) clearly says to make peace between Muslims who fight each other and does not say to declare them as kafirs. It should be understood that fighting a Muslim is a minor form of disbelief. Similarly, abandoning prayer is also a form of minor disbelief.
lets look a the next hadith,
Hudhaifa bin al-Yamaan (rali) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal) said:
“Islaam will be erased just as the decoration of a garment is (worn out and) erased, until it will not be known what is fasting, nor prayer, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity; and the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, (i.e., the Qur’aan) will be taken away (from the mus-hafs and breasts of the people) in one night such that not (even) an aayah from it will remain on earth. And groups of people will remain – the old people – saying: ‘We saw our forefathers upon this statement: ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has the right to worshiped but Allaah),’ so we also say it.’”
(Then), Silah bin Zufar said to Hudhaifa: ‘What will ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah’ benefit them when they don’t know what is prayer, nor fasting, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity?’ Hudhaifa turned away from him. Then (Silah) repeated it to (Hudhaifa) three times, and every time Hudhaifa would turn away from him. Then he turned toward him on the third time and said three times: ‘O Silah! It will save them from the Fire."
(Sahih Ibn Majah)
This hadith proves clearly that the one who bears witness that "None has the right to worship Allah" will enter paradise even if one has abandoned prayer.
(3) Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to order the caller to say on a cold, rainy night, “Surely, pray in your homes.” (Bukhari and Musli)
In this hadith the prophet (al) ordered the people to pray in their homes during situation such as rain, cold etc because it ould cause hardship for Muslims. Unfortunately nowadays there are some ho foolishly prid themelves in going to he mosques for prayers thinking that they will b rewarded.
In this hadith it is clear that if you are atwing far away from te mosques and cannot hear the azhan, there is no need in coming to pray the congregational prayer and it is clear tat it is not necessarily a must for everyone to pray in the mosque because situation and difficulties can arise and you can pray at home
Praying the congregational prayers I considered an obligation for a grownup Muslim man and not doing so I often frowned upon. We should understand that Islam is a very pragmatic and easy religion and it is not haram or a man to pray at home. The evidence that men can o not necessarily need to pray congregational prayer is in the below hadith,
(1). Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri (rali):
'A woman came to the Prophet (sal) while we were with him.
She said: Messenger of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn prayer until the sun rises.
He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had said. He replied: Messenger of Allah, as for her statement "he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs (during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so). He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during prayer), that is sufficient for the people. (Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes me break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I cannot restrain myself. The Messenger of Allah (sal) said on that day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of her husband. (Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is already known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer."
(Sunan Abu Dawud-Graded Sahih by Albani)
From this hadith it is clear that the prophet (sal) did not admonish the companion for not praying the fajr prayer before sunrise but instead told him to pray after sunrise. Nowadays, we see some Muslims calling Muslims as kafir if they are slack in their prayers and this is unfortunate because of the widespread ignorance of the Muslim community in the world. Hadiths such as,"Whoever abandons the prayer has disbelieved" (Tirmidhi with an authentic chain of narration) is similar to another hadith in which the prophet (sal) said,
"Insulting a Muslim is disobedience (to Allah), and fighting him is disbelief."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Now, I would like to ask the Muslim brothers and sisters who argue that the Muslim who abandons his five times prayers is a kafir and an apostate, what will you call a Muslim who will pick up a fight with another Muslim? Are you going to declare him a kafir too? if so, then almost every single Muslim will become an apostate. A Muslim who fights another Muslim is not a kafir because Allah (swt) says,
"And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah . And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.'
(Al-Quran-49:9)
In the above verse, Allah(swt) clearly says to make peace between Muslims who fight each other and does not say to declare them as kafirs. It should be understood that fighting a Muslim is a minor form of disbelief. Similarly, abandoning prayer is also a form of minor disbelief.
lets look a the next hadith,
Hudhaifa bin al-Yamaan (rali) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal) said:
“Islaam will be erased just as the decoration of a garment is (worn out and) erased, until it will not be known what is fasting, nor prayer, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity; and the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, (i.e., the Qur’aan) will be taken away (from the mus-hafs and breasts of the people) in one night such that not (even) an aayah from it will remain on earth. And groups of people will remain – the old people – saying: ‘We saw our forefathers upon this statement: ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has the right to worshiped but Allaah),’ so we also say it.’”
(Then), Silah bin Zufar said to Hudhaifa: ‘What will ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah’ benefit them when they don’t know what is prayer, nor fasting, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity?’ Hudhaifa turned away from him. Then (Silah) repeated it to (Hudhaifa) three times, and every time Hudhaifa would turn away from him. Then he turned toward him on the third time and said three times: ‘O Silah! It will save them from the Fire."
(Sahih Ibn Majah)
This hadith proves clearly that the one who bears witness that "None has the right to worship Allah" will enter paradise even if one has abandoned prayer.
(3) Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to order the caller to say on a cold, rainy night, “Surely, pray in your homes.” (Bukhari and Musli)
In this hadith the prophet (al) ordered the people to pray in their homes during situation such as rain, cold etc because it ould cause hardship for Muslims. Unfortunately nowadays there are some ho foolishly prid themelves in going to he mosques for prayers thinking that they will b rewarded.
- Abu Huraira reported:
In this hadith it is clear that if you are atwing far away from te mosques and cannot hear the azhan, there is no need in coming to pray the congregational prayer and it is clear tat it is not necessarily a must for everyone to pray in the mosque because situation and difficulties can arise and you can pray at home