The importance of praying Sunnah, or voluntary prayer, can be appreciated when we look carefully at this authentic Qudsi Hadith in which the Prophet is quoted to have said: "Allah, the Almighty says: Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his ear with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask something of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it." (Related by Al-Bukhari). What is meant by "supererogatory works" mentioned in this Hadith is any voluntary action which is added over and above the religious duties Allah has imposed. This relates particularly to prayers, since the Hadith uses in Arabic the same word [Nafil] we use to refer to voluntary prayers.

However, what the Prophet has recommended or encouraged us to do, by way of offering voluntary worship, remains voluntary. It is not obligatory. Hence, it is not for anyone to demand it of others. Allah will question us on the day of judgment about any obligatory prayer we deliberately miss. But He will not question us about Sunnah we do not do. He will reward us for the Sunnah we do, but He does not punish anyone for omitting any voluntary action [though we may be reproached for not following the recommended practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him]. When a man told the Prophet that he was not prepared to add anything to what Allah has made a binding duty on him, the Prophet commented: "(The man) will prosper if he fulfills what he says."

Allah has given us a time range for each prayer. It is far more preferable to offer Isha prayer before midnight, but if one delays it after that, it is acceptable. Some people prefer to delay Isha in order to conclude their day's activity with a prayer. While it is more preferable to offer Isha prayer with the congregation at the beginning of its time, the thought of concluding one's day with it is [also] fine.

This is how a Muslim views the duties Allah has imposed on him when He put him in charge of the earth, the test He has set for him and the reward He has set for him and the reward He gives at the end. He is certain of Allah's mercy and justice in all that. He, therefore, does not complain or grumble about his duties, nor does he think that he is overburdened with such duties. He knows that Allah who has imposed those duties on him is fully aware of his own capabilities and that He would not have imposed those duties on him if he is incapable of fulfilling them. Such a reassuring view is certain to provide an incentive for the believer to discharge his duties. If he weakens or slackens, he knows that the problem is his own weakness, not that the task is too excessive. He can then motivate himself anew and strengthen his resolve to discharge his duty.

The second part of this concept is embodied in this statement: To its credit shall be whatever good it does and against it whatever evil it does. It is then a personal responsibility. Every individual is credited with his or her own good actions and bears the consequences of his or her evil wants. Every human being will return to Allah holding his own personal account which shows everything recorded to his credit or against him. He cannot make any endorsement to anyone else, and he expects help from no one. When people are fully aware of the fact that they return to Allah as individuals, everyone of them becomes a fully independent unit which does not concede Allah's right in him to anyone. Every single human being will stand in Allah's rights against any temptation, tyranny, transgression and corruption. He is responsible to protect himself and to protect Allah's right in him, which is to obey Allah and to submit to Him alone in matters of faith and behavior. If he, under the pressure of temptation and seduction or coercion and tyranny, gives up that right — with the exception of one who pretends to do so under pressure and by force while his heart remains genuinely faithful — he should know that no person will be able to intercede on his behalf on the Day of Judgment or to protect him against any punishment. No one shall help him with taking over any part of his burden, and no one shall stand to defend him against Allah. Hence, every individual will fight as hard as he can in order to defend himself and defend Allah's right in him, since he will stand alone to receive his reward from Allah. There is no danger from this type of individual responsibility. Faith requires that every individual should fulfill his duty toward the community as part of his duty toward Allah. He is required to maintain as part of the community in an exercise of complete and mutual social security which is not confined to matters of earnings and finance, physical help and sincere advice, but also includes working together in order to enforce what is right and to destroy what is evil. All this will either be credited to or debited from his account when he faces Allah as an individual waiting for his reward.

We then have a prayer which suggests an attitude of hope mixed with fear, as if the believers who repeat that prayer have fully understood the preceding fact. This prayer describes the relationship between the believers and their Lord. They are aware of their weakness, their need for Allah's pardon and forgiveness, and for His help and shelter, and the fact that their only proper course is to be on His side and to reject any claim other than His, and to be ready to fight for His cause, seeking help and victory only from Him. The prayer is characterized by its soft tone and fine rhythm.

Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or lapse into error. When a Muslim is overcome by his human weakness his actions are dictated by error and forgetfulness. He, therefore, prays to his Lord seeking His forgiveness. He does not boast of his deviations, or deliberately contravenes Allah's orders, or imagines that he is too great to obey Allah and submit to His will. Nothing of this can be true of the believer in his relationship with his Lord. No one who adopts such an attitude hopes for Allah's forgiveness unless he regrets his attitude and turns to Allah in repentance. Allah has answered this prayer of His believing servants. The Prophet, peace be upon him, says: Allah has pardoned my nation anything they do genuinely by mistake, or out of forgetfulness, or what they are forced to do. (Related by Al-Tabrani).

Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden such as that which You laid on those before us. This prayer results from the fact that the nation of Islam is the heir of Allah's messages to mankind. The Muslims have learned through the Qur'an of the behavior of other nations which received messages and the burdens Allah imposed on those nations in punishment for what they had done. He made certain good things and luxuries forbidden for the Israelites. He also required them to kill themselves in atonement for worshipping the calf, as related in the Surah. He had also forbidden them to trade or hunt on the Sabbath. The believers pray to their Lord not to impose on them such burdens as He had imposed on those nations before them. Allah has sent Muhammad — the unlettered Prophet, peace be upon him, to relieve all those who believe in Him and His message of their burden and the chains with which they were fettered. His faith is, therefore, an easy and tolerant one. It is in perfect harmony with human nature. Allah says to the Prophet, peace be upon him: "We will facilitate your path to that which is easier."

The heaviest burden, however, of which Allah has relieved the nation of Islam, after having imposed it on other nations before them for contravening the terms and conditions of His covenant by which they are put in charge of building the earth, is that of having to submit themselves to fellow human beings. It is an enslavement of one man by another, represented by one man enacting legislation and others submitting to him personally or to his group or class. Those who believe in Allah have been relieved of this the greatest burden of all. This relief is embodied in Allah's requirement that they worship and obey Him alone and receive their legislation from Him alone. In this way He has released their spirits and minds and their lives from submission to fellow human beings.

Submission to Allah alone, as represented by deriving legislation, laws, values and standards from Him only, is the point of human liberation from submission to the authority of tyrants, priests, superstitions, customs and traditions, caprice and every other false authority which imposes a burden which makes people hang down their heads in submission to someone other than the Almighty.

The prayer of the believers: Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden such as that which You laid on those before us, reveals their gratitude for their release from being enslaved by other people as well as their fear from sinking back into that abominable depth.

Our Lord, do not burden us with what we do not have the strength to bear. This is a prayer which emphasizes the fact that those believers have submitted themselves to Allah. They do not intend to neglect any duty Allah imposes on them. They only pray to Him to consider their weakness and not to charge them with what they cannot fulfill. Their attitude is one of total obedience and submission, colored with the hopes entertained by a weak servant for mercy by the Supreme Master. They are only asking Allah to extend to them what He extends to His servants of benevolence, compassion and easy duties.

This is followed by an acknowledgment of weakness and fear of their own shortcomings which cannot be removed except by Allah's grace: Pardon us, forgive us our sins, and have mercy on us. This is the only guarantee for passing the test and winning Allah's pleasure. No matter how hard a human being tries to fulfill his duties, he falls short of what is required of him. Allah shows him His grace and extends to him His pardon and forgiveness. Aisha, the Prophet's wife, quotes him as saying: "None of you shall enter heaven on the basis of his actions alone." When his companions asked the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Not even you, messenger of Allah." He answered: "Not even me, unless Allah showers His mercy on me."

To the believer, this is the crux of the matter. He works as hard as he can, but he always feels his weakness. He compensates for his weakness by his ever-present hope that Allah will have mercy on him.

Finally, the believers seek Allah's help as they intend to fight for His cause in order to establish the truth and implement His law on earth so that there be no strife, and submission remains to Allah alone. The believers seek help from the only source of strength and lift the banner which shows that they have their allegiance to Allah alone. They seek victory from Him since He is their Lord Supreme, and since they fight the non-believers under His name: You alone are our Lord Supreme: give us, then, victory over the non-believers.

The suggestion you have quoted is preposterous. To suggest that a person who does not pray for three days can be taken and sentenced to death and executed straight-away is to betray one's ignorance of Islam and its teachings. But I can imagine the line of thinking which leads this man to say what he said, that is, if he is quoted correctly. Some scholars argue that a person who does not pray is a non-believer. If he was a Muslim and then reached that stage, then some people argue, he is an apostate and apostasy may incur capital punishment. But this line of thinking is not much different from the one which leads to the following conclusion: What is white is milk; eggs are white, so egg is milk.

Let us now examine the position of a person who does not pray for three days. Scholars have distinguished between two types of disbelief: one which relates to action or lack of it. The first is concerned only with what a person believes in or denies. It is unanimously agreed by all scholars that if a person denies something which is essentially known as an integral part of the Islamic faith, he is a disbeliever. If we are to apply this principle to prayers, we say that if a person claims to be a Muslim and denies that prayers are part of Islam, or says that it is part of it but not necessarily in the number or the manner which the Prophet has taught us, then he is a disbeliever. If his denial has come shortly after he had been a Muslim, then he is an apostate. In a Muslim state, an apostate is given a fair hearing before Muslim judges who may order that scholars should come and explain to him the Islamic faith and argue with him about his beliefs. If he insists on maintaining his apostasy, he is given three days to recant. If he does not, then he may incur the capital punishment, as happened indeed in Sudan recently when a man who claimed to be god was executed.

I would like to point here that this is not a simple case, but a very complicated one. To start with, the person concerned should have publicized his beliefs which are contrary to Islam in a way which is likely to undermine Islamic society. If he keeps his beliefs to himself, nobody will question him about them. When he is questioned about them, every opportunity is given to make him realize his mistake. Scholars of the highest caliber are brought to argue with him. In the end, if he is so stubborn, he is sentenced, but given three days to recant. He can easily escape punishment by publicly saying that he has renounced his erroneous beliefs.

What I would like to emphasize here is that a Muslim government is not at all interested in discovering who is following the right faith and who has funny ideas. It does not follow people into their homes to discover what they actually believe in. Therefore, a person may entertain the most preposterous thoughts and beliefs, without having any fear that anyone will question him about his ideas. The principle is clearly stated in the Qur'an: "No compulsion is admissible in matters of faith."

If a person who has much deviant ideas starts to publicize them and calls on others to share his beliefs, he is actually starting a rebellion against the very fabric of Islamic society and its basic concepts. His action is likely to result in division and conflict. When this happens, Islam moves to nip such a detrimental offshoot when it is still in the bud. Its method is to give the person concerned every chance to stop his seditious action. To escape punishment, that person need not do more than to state that he withdraws his earlier statements, even if he still believes in them himself. What Islam achieves by this is to stop the act of sedition which could cause public disorder. If the person still maintains his ideas but keeps them to himself, no one is going to bother about him.

The other type of disbelief is that which relates to action, or the lack of it. Certain actions of disobedience to Allah have been described by the Prophet as actions of disbelief. A person who is guilty of any of these is questioned about his actions and the Islamic attitude is explained to him. If he has committed an act of disobedience for which a particular punishment is prescribed by Allah and this is proven either by the testimony of the required number of witnesses or by free confession, then the punishment is carried out. No authority can stop it. In the case of a person who does not pray, there is no prescribed punishment.