Is the marriage considered void—and what are the resulting rulings, such as the legitimacy of the children and inheritance—if one of the spouses or the guardian was not praying at the time of the marriage contract, but they later committed to prayer?

One who abandons prayer, denying its obligation, is an infidel by consensus. As for one who neglects or is lazy in performing it, the preponderant opinion is that he becomes an infidel. If a marriage contract is concluded and one of the spouses does not pray, the contract is invalid. However, the child resulting from this union is attributed to the father, and inheritance is established between them, due to their belief in the validity of the marriage. Muslims have agreed that for any marriage that the husband believes to be permissible, if he has sexual intercourse within it, his child is attributed to him, and they inherit from each other, even if the marriage is in reality invalid.

The contract must be renewed if it was invalid, and marriage without a guardian is not permissible. If the guardian does not pray, the guardianship transfers to the next in line, or the religious judge or the imam of the Islamic center may marry her.

If a man divorces his wife in a marriage they both believe to be valid, the divorce takes effect, even if the marriage was in reality unsound. One who performs Hajj and then abandons prayer is not required to repeat Hajj upon repentance.