A Companion from the people of Paradise who never prayed
28-7-2011 | IslamWeb
Question:
Would you please provide information about Suraym ibn Al-Ash’hal, may Allaah be pleased with him?
Answer:
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, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Al-Usayrim (not Suraym) was Ibn ‘Abd Al-Ash’hal. His name was ‘Amr ibn Thaabit ibn Waqeesh ibn Zughbah ibn Za‘ooraa’ ibn ‘Abd Al-Ash’hal Al-Ansaari. Al-Usayrim was his epithet. His tribe was Banu ‘Abd Al-Ash’hal, who were one of the tribes of the Ansaar (the Helpers in Madeenah). Referring to them, Anas 
narrated on the authority of Abu Usayd that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the best tribe of Al-Ansaar was Banu An-Najjaar, and then Banu ‘Abd Al-Ash’hal. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
He embraced Islam on the day of Uhud and immediately participated in the battle. He was killed without having had the chance to perform any prayer. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that he was one of the people of Paradise. In this regard, it was reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he spoke about one of the people of Paradise who never prayed and mentioned that it was Al-Usayrim ibn ‘Abd Al-Ash’hal ibn ‘Amr ibn Thaabit ibn Waqeesh . Mahmood ibn Labeed 
who was one of the narrators of Hadeeth, said that when the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, set out to the battle of Uhud, Allaah The Almighty guided Al-Usayrim to Islam at that very time and so he embraced Islam. Immediately after that, he picked up his sword and entered the battlefield. He fought until he could fight no more because of his wounds. The Companions 
wondered what had brought him there when they had left him as a disbeliever. He told them that it was his desire for Islam that had brought him and that he believed in Allaah The Almighty and His Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He fought alongside the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, until his wounds stopped him; then, he died. When the Companions mentioned that to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he told them that Al-Usayrim was one of the people of Paradise. [Ahmad, Ibn Hajar: Hasan (Sound)]
This Hadeeth cannot be taken as proof that faith does not include performing prayers, nor does it indicate that giving up prayer is not considered as disbelief. This is because Al-Usayrim did not have the chance to perform prayer in the first place.
Allaah Knows best.