Is Praying Impurely Disbelief in the Hanafi School?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Did Abu Hanifa view someone who prays salah with wudu but intentionally prays with impurity as a disbeliever?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Intentionally performing the prayer without purification is not disbelief according to the relied upon position in the Hanafi school. That is unless the person is doing so in mockery or belittlement of the prayer. This is because belittlement is akin to rejection, and rejecting an obligation (fard) is disbelief. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Although it is not disbelief if done without belittlement of the prayer, it is a major sin, and one must repent from such an action.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.