When Should A Child Be Ordered To Perform The Prayer?

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “When a boy reaches the age of seven years, teach him the Prayers (Salat), and punish him, when he commits a default (in his Prayers) at the age of seven years.” (Reported by At- Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)

It was related that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When your children attain the age of seven years, ask them to perform the Prayer and chastise them in respect of any fault in this behalf; when they are ten years old, let them sleep in separate beds.” (Reported by Abu Dawud and Ahmad)

Imlam Sulyman AI-Khattabi (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “This hadith indicates that the punishment of nonperformance of the Prayer increases when the child reaches puberty. Some disciples of Imam Shafi’i cited the above hadith as evidence to kill the child if he persisted in purposely neglecting the prayer after reaching puberty. They assumed that if he deserves to be struck while still a child, then he should rather face more severe punishment after reaching puberty, and nothing can be more severe than death.

There are differences among Islamic legal scholars as to the judgment of he who neglects the Prayer. Malik, Shafi’i, and Ahmed all hold that the one who misses the Prayer is executed. Then they differ as regards his belief, should they call him an unbeliever or not (in case of neglecting the Prayer without a legal excuse)? The opinion that such a person becomes an unbeliever has been ascribed to Ibrahim An-Nakh’iy, Ayyub As-Sakhtiyani, ‘Abdullah Ibn AI-Mubarak, Ahmed Ibn Hambal, and Ishaq Ibn Rahawyah. Those who hold that whoever misses a Prayer becomes an unbeliever adduce the following evidence: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The covenant between them and us consists of the Prayer: whoever leaves it has disbelieved.”

The Messenger also said, “Between a man and unbelief is the nonperformance of the Prayer.”