The chain of transmission also features [Amr ibn Abi [Amr from al-Maqburi. There is disagreement on who is meant by al-Maqburi, and whether he was Abu Sa[id or his son, Sa[id. Both of them were known by this name even though it originally applied to the father. Abu [Ali al-Ghassani al-Jayyani quotes Abu Muslim al-Dimashqi stating that he was Abu Sa[id. Abu [Ali said: ‘This is only in the version reported by Isma[il ibn Ja[far from [Amr ibn Abi [Amr’. Al-Daraqutni said: ‘Sulayman ibn Bilal’s reporting is different as he reports from [Amr from Sa[id al-Maqburi. Sulayman ibn Bilal’s version is more accurate’. Shaykh Abu [Amr ibn al-Salah said: ‘Abu Nu[aym al-Asfahani entered it in his book al-Mukhraj [ala Sahih Muslim, in acceptable chains of transmission, putting it clearly, from Isma[il ibn Ja[far from [Amr ibn Abi [Amr from Sa[id ibn Abi Sa[id al-Maqburi. But we report it in Abu [Awanah’s al-Musnad Al-Mukharraj [ala Sahih Muslim from Isma[il ibn Ja[far from Abu Sa[id, and from Sulayman ibn Bilal from Sa[id, as al-Daraqutni stated. This is how it is established’.
Al-Maqburi means having to do with graveyards. Ibrahim al-Harbi and others said: Abu Sa[id used to go to graveyards and this is how he earned his title. It is also said that his home was close to a graveyard. It is further said that [Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him as grave digger. His name was Kaysan al-Laythi al-Madani.
i.Related by Abu Dawud in a shorter version, 4679; Ibn Majah, 4003.
i.Related by al-Bukhari, 298, 913, 1393, 1850 and 2515; Muslim, 2050; al-Nasa’i, 1575 and 1578; Ibn Majah, 1288. They all related the hadith narrated by Abu Sa[id al-Khudri.
CHAPTER 36
CALLING A PERSON WHO DOES NOT PRAY AN UNBELIEVER
[136–133]. (Dar al-Salam 0144) Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Abu Kurayb narrated:i Abu Mu[awiyah narrated; from al-A[mash; from Abu Salih; from Abu Hurayrah: ‘God’s Messen-ger (peace be upon him) said: “When a human being recites a verse ordering prostration and he prostrates himself, Satan stands aside weeping. He says, woe to him. (In Abu Kurayb’s narration: Woe to me.) Man is commanded to prostrate himself and he does. He thus will be in Heaven. I was commanded to prostrate myself and I refused. Thus I will be in Hell”.’
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ قَالا: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا قَرَأَ ابْنُ آدَمَ السَّجْدَةَ فَسَجَدَ، اعْتَزَلَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَبْكِي يَقُولُ يَا وَيْلَهُ - وَفِي رِوَايَةِ أَبِي كُرَيْبٍ يَا وَيْلِي - أُمِرَ ابْنُ آدَمَ بِالسُّجُودِ فَسَجَدَ فَلَهُ الْجَنَّةُ، وَأُمِرْتُ بِالسُّجُودِ فَأَبَيْتُ فَلِيَ النَّارُ».
[137–000]. (Dar al-Salam 0145) Zuhayr ibn Harb narrated to me: Waki[ narrated; al-A[mash narrated; in this chain of transmission: the same, except that at the end he said: ‘I disobeyed and I will be in Hell’.
حَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ: مِثْلَهُ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «فَعَصَيْتُ فَلِيَ النَّارُ».
[138–134]. (Dar al-Salam 0146) Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi and [Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah both narrated from Jarir.i Yahya said: Jarir reported; from al-A[mash; from Abu Sufyan: I heard Jabir say: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: ‘What separates a person from disbelief and associating partners with God is the negligence of prayer’.
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى التَّمِيمِيُّ، وَعُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ جَرِيرٍ، قَالَ يَحْيَى أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَابِرًا، يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ بَيْنَ الرَّجُلِ وَبَيْنَ الشِّرْكِ وَالْكُفْرِ تَرْكَ الصَّلاَةِ».
[000–000]. (Dar al-Salam 0147) Abu Ghassan al-Misma[i nar-rated:ii al-Dahhak ibn Makhlad narrated; from Ibn Jurayj; Abu al-Zubayr reported to me that he heard Jabir ibn [Abdullah say: ‘I heard God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) say: “What separates a person from disbelief and associating partners with God is the negligence of prayer”.’18
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو غَسَّانَ الْـمِسْمَعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مَخْلَدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللهِ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «بَيْنَ الرَّجُلِ وَبَيْنَ الشِّرْكِ وَالْكُفْرِ تَرْكُ الصَّلاَةِ».
Text Explanation
18. Muslim enters the first two hadiths here in order to highlight the fact that, when left undone, certain duties lead to unbelief, either real or by name. Iblis, or Satan, ended up in total unbelief because he did not prostrate himself as God bid him. This is based on the Qur’anic verse that says: ‘When We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourselves before Adam”, they did so except for Iblisiii who refused, swelled in insolence, and was thus an unbeliever’. (2: 34) The majority of scholars explain the use of ‘was thus an unbeliever’ in the past tense as saying that he was, in God’s perfect knowledge, an unbeliever. Some scholars say that it means ‘thus he became an unbeliever’. They draw a parallel with the other verse that speaks of Noah, when his son refused to join him in the Ark: ‘Thereupon waves rose up between them and he was among those who were drowned’. (11: 43)
Here, we need to look at the situation of a person who does not offer obligatory prayers. If he denies that prayers are obligatory, then according to the unanimous verdict of all Muslims he is an unbeliever, one who is beyond the pale of Islam. The only exception is a new convert who has not mixed with the Muslim community for a sufficiently long period of time to learn that the duty of prayer is incumbent on him as it is incumbent on every Muslim. Scholars hold different views about the Muslim who believes that prayer is obligatory but does not pray out of laziness, which is true of many people. Malik, al-Shafi[i and the great majority of scholars of early and recent times maintain that he is not an unbeliever. Rather, he is a transgressor who is required to repent and mend his ways. If he repents and starts to pray, then this is fine, if not he incurs the death penalty as mandatory punishment, just like a married adulterer, but not by stoning.
A number of early scholars are of the view that such a person is an unbeliever. This is reported from [Ali ibn Abi Talib and it is one of two views expressed by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. This view is also expressed by [Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh