A Fatwa Concerning the Abandonment of Prayer

Question

If a certain religious scholar abandons going to the mosque and performing the congregational prayer in his own locality — there being only one mosque there — while the adhan and congregation are not held there on time, indeed most of the time no adhan or congregation takes place at all; and this scholar occasionally goes to another village, yet issues a great many fatwas elsewhere, [saying] this is permissible, that is impermissible, that taking a [certain] salary is unlawful — may his fatwas be acted upon?

Answer

Any fatwa, if it is correct, must be accepted; if there is doubt about its correctness, confirmation and verification should be obtained from other trustworthy persons. Abandoning the congregational prayer without a valid excuse is, according to the Sacred Law, extremely reprehensible and blameworthy; one who persistently abandons it is a corrupt person (fasiq)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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