Is the execution for abandoning prayer considered an act of apostasy or a prescribed punishment (Hadd)?
Chapter on the Ruling on One Who Abandons Prayer
Al-Mughni
Book of the Eclipse Prayers (Solar and Lunar)
Primary text
One narration holds that the execution is due to apostasy, meaning the person is not washed, shrouded, buried among Muslims, nor do they inherit or are inherited from. This view is favored by Abu Ishaq ibn Shaqila and Ibn Hamid, aligning with the positions of Al-Hasan, Al-Nakha'i, Al-Sha'bi, Ayyub Al-Sakhtiyani, Al-Awza'i, Ibn Al-Mubarak, Hammad ibn Zayd, Ishaq, and Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan, based on Hadith equating abandonment of prayer with disbelief and affirming that only disbelief permits execution.
Supporting text
The second narration holds that the person is executed as a prescribed punishment (*hadd*), while still considered a Muslim. This is the choice of Abu Abdullah Ibn Battah, who rejected the view of apostasy, claiming the established position in the school holds this view without disagreement. This is the position of the majority of jurists, including Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Al-Shafi'i. Evidence for this includes traditions indicating that saying 'La ilaha illa Allah' guarantees salvation from the Fire, even with minimal good deeds, and Hadith showing that those who fulfill the five daily prayers have a covenant for Paradise, while those who do not are left to God's will, suggesting they are not outright disbelievers. Furthermore, there is established practice among Muslims of washing, praying over, and burying prayer-abandoners, and upholding inheritance rights, which would not be the case for apostates. The severe descriptions of disbelief associated with abandoning prayer are interpreted as emphasizing severe warning and comparison to disbelievers, not literal declaration of apostasy.