What is the excuse of ignorance that prevents someone who deliberately abandons prayer from being declared a disbeliever? Does it concern ignorance that prayer is obligatory, or ignorance that abandoning it is disbelief?
The ignorance that excuses its perpetrator is ignorance of the ruling, such as one who neglects an obligation or commits a forbidden act, while not knowing that it is so. As for one who knows that an act is forbidden, but is ignorant of the punishment entailed by it, he is not excused, because he proceeded with the disobedience while being aware. The proof for this is the Prophet's (peace be upon him) question to the adulterer: "Do you know what adultery is?" and the of Ma'iz, whose punishment was not waived due to his ignorance of the penalty. So, whoever commits adultery while not knowing that adultery is forbidden, is excused by his ignorance. But whoever knows that adultery is forbidden and is ignorant that the punishment for an adulterer is stoning, is not excused, and the punishment must be carried out on him. Ignorance of the punishment is not an excuse, whereas ignorance of an act being forbidden is the excuse.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/24064
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 24064
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy