A pregnant woman of five months suffers pains in her back when she prays standing. Therefore, she totally abandoned the prayer as she is not convinced of the possibility of performing it while sitting down. What is the Sharee'ah ruling? Thanks.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Standing is one of the pillars of the obligatory prayer. When one is able to stand up, his prayer is invalid unless he does so. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And stand before Allaah, devoutly obedient.}[Quran 2: 238]

When one is unable to stand up while performing an obligatory prayer due to sickness, wounds, and so on, he is allowed to pray sitting down with any position most appropriate to him. Nonetheless, he is not allowed to abandon the prayer under any circumstances as long as he is sane. It was narrated on the authority of 'Umraan ibn Husayn that he said: "I suffered from hemorrhoids and I asked the Prophet about prayer. He said, 'Pray standing. If you are not able to, then pray sitting and, if you are still not able to, then pray (while lying) on your side.'" [Al-Bukhari]

This is the Sharee'ah ruling on such a case. This woman being unconvinced of the obligation of performing prayer in the sitting position, although she is knowledgeable that it is prescribed, constitutes a great danger against her belief. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.}[Quran 33: 36]

It should be known that abandoning the prayer deliberately is an act of Kufr (i.e. disbelief), according to the opinion of some scholars. The Prophet said: "The line of demarcation between us (i.e. believers) and them (i.e. disbelievers) is prayer. So, whoever abandons it is a disbeliever." [At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and others]

This woman is now required to repent to Allaah The Almighty and resume performing prayers. This should be preceded with regret for neglecting this great obligation and determination not to repeat this again in the future. She is also required to make up for the lost prayers during this period at any time she can during the day or night.