The virtue of Medina. A woman is asking: Is it permissible to give zakah to a poor person who does not regularly perform prayer, and perhaps also misses Jumu'ah?

We say that anyone who is from the people of Islam, charity and also zakah are permissible for him. In fact, it is even permissible for a polytheist if it is to win his heart, if the intention is to bring him closer.

Even if he is wealthy, if the intention is to win his heart and it appears that this will lead him to Islam.

As for the one who abandons prayer, we say that the one who abandons prayer is in two situations. The first situation is if he abandons it completely, does not perform prayer at all, then the apparent evidence is that he is a disbeliever and not from the people of Islam.

This is based on what has come from the Prophet ﷺ in the two Sahihs and Muslim from the narration of Jabir: Between a man and shirk is abandoning prayer.

And what has come from Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan, he ﷺ said in the narration of Buraydah.

The covenant that distinguishes us from them is the prayer; whoever abandons it has committed disbelief.

A group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also held this view, that the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and others among the sahaba explicitly stated this, and it was also narrated from Ibn Mas'ud.

That the one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, and consensus has also been reported on this.

How about this consensus? It is the consensus of the sahaba, as in the narration with al-Tirmidhi, and also the consensus of the followers.

As narrated by Ayyub ibn Abi Tamimah al-Sakhtiyani, as reported by Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi in his book "The Magnification of the Status of Prayer."

From the narration of Hammad ibn Zayd, that Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani said: Abandoning the prayer is disbelief, and we do not differ about this.

A group of scholars, such as Ishaq ibn Rahwayh and Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi, have reported consensus on this. However, some of them report consensus on applying the label of disbelief in general, while the disagreement is whether it is major disbelief or minor disbelief.

This is if he abandons it completely. In that case, we say he is not given if he is poor or needy.

Or if he is in debt, or also among those in bondage and the like. However, he is given if it is to win his heart, so in that case, he is among the categories.

Among its categories is winning the heart. As for the second type of person who abandons prayer, who does not abandon it completely, he performs

two or three obligatory prayers but leaves the rest, and this is his state every day.

For such a person, we say as a principle that he is committing a major sin as long as he does not abandon prayer completely.

The evidence for this is what was narrated by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad, from the narration of Ahmad ibn Nasr, from the narration of Nasr ibn Asim, that a man from among them came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

He said, "I want to accept Islam on the condition that I only pray two prayers." So the Prophet ﷺ accepted his pledge on that.

This is because if he were still in disbelief, the Prophet ﷺ would not send a man from disbelief to disbelief, but rather from disbelief to a major sin. So we say at that point that abandoning prayer does not make a person a disbeliever.

A person is not made a disbeliever as long as he performs some of the prayers during the day and night. He is committing a major sin, one of the grave sins and destructive acts.

One of the destructive acts. So at that point, it is permissible that among these eight categories, whoever meets the description may be given.

That he may be given from the zakat. A person does not become a disbeliever even if he persists and continues to abandon Maghrib and Isha prayer; it is not counted. The apparent evidence is that he is committing a major sin and his sin is great, but declaring disbelief requires evidence.

This requires evidence for it, so we say that what relates to the narration of Nasr ibn Asim is an indication that the one who abandons prayer does not become a disbeliever until he leaves prayer entirely.

Until he abandons prayer completely.