Is the imam entitled to refuse to pray over the deceased on the grounds that he did not pray and drank alcohol?
Praying over those who abandon prayer and those who commit major sins, and their excommunication, has been clarified in previous fatwas. The testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah is the first pillar of Islam and its key, and it has rights and conditions that must be fulfilled. For Islam is not merely a verbal statement; rather, it is a statement by the tongue, a conviction by the heart, and an action by the limbs. Whoever fulfills these has rendered the right of the testimony, and whoever does not, has not fulfilled its right.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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