Question
Does a person become a munafiq if he does not attend the salah in mosque?
Answer
A person will not be regarded a Munafiq by leaving out Salaat with Jamaat as a Munaafiq is one who does not have Imaan and merely feigns being a Muslim. However, discarding Jamaat will create Nifaaq in him. It appears in one narration:
It is reported from Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood that he said: “We witnessed in our era that nobody would discard Salaah (Jamaat) except such a Munafiq whose Nifaaq was known…”
Mulla Ali Rahimahullah quotes in his commentary of this narration from Ibnul Humaam Rahimahullah that Nifaaq is created in the heart due to discarding the Jamaat. This does not mean that only the Munaafiqeen miss the Jamaat. Sometimes a person misses the Jamaat due to laziness whilst his Imaan is intact, he has Yaqeen in the oneness of Allah and has no Nifaaq in him. This in no way means that a person may go on discarding the Jamaat without any consequence. A person who discards Jamaat will be sinful. His testimony will not be accepted in an Islamic court..
Checked and Approved By:
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
References
مرقاة المفاتيحج ٢ ص ٧٤ دار إحياء التراث