Can we eat meat slaughtered by one who does not pray?
Question

                I would like to ask what we should do if my brother does not pray, so he is regarded as a kaafir according to sharee’ah; can we eat meat that is slaughtered by him or not?.
Praise be to Allah.
    What you have to do is to advise your brother to pray 
    regularly, and tell him of the ruling of Allaah concerning one who does not 
    pray. Do not let him slaughter the meat for you himself, and tell him the 
    reason why, which is that the one who does not pray is regarded as a kaafir, 
    so meat slaughtered by him is not halaal. Perhaps knowing the ruling will 
    have an effect on him, and he will come back to his religion and start to 
    pray regularly. This will be better for him in his religious and worldly 
    affairs, in this world and in the Hereafter. 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
    was asked:  

    Is it permissible to eat meat slaughtered by one who 
    deliberately does not pray, knowing that if he is told of that he will claim 
    that he says the Shahaadah? What should we do if we cannot find any butcher 
    who does pray? 

    He replied: 

    If a person does not pray, we should not eat meat slaughtered 
    by him. This is the correct view, because the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr 
    there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh from 
    Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Ansaari (may Allaah be pleased with him). And the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant 
    that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is a 
    kaafir.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad and the four authors of Sunan with a 
    saheeh isnaad from Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allaah be pleased with him). 
    And he said: “The head of the matter is Islam and its pillar is prayer.” 
    Narrated by Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi with a saheeh isnaad from Mu’aadh ibn 
    Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him). If the pillar of a thing falls, it 
    cannot stand straight or remain; when the pillar falls, whatever rests on it 
    falls too. 

    Thus it is known that the one who does not pray has no 
    religion, so meat slaughtered by him cannot be eaten. If you are living in a 
    land where there are no Muslim butchers, you should laughter your own meat 
    and use your hands to do something that will be benefit to you, or look for 
    a Muslim butcher to slaughter meat for you even in his own house. Praise be 
    to Allaah, this is something easy so you should not be heedless about this 
    matter.  

    You should advise this man to fear Allaah and pray. His 
    suggestion that the Shahaadatayn is sufficient is a serious mistake, because 
    the Shahaadatayn come with conditions that must be fulfilled, as the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have been ordered 
    to fight the people until they bear witness that there is no god except 
    Allaah and that I am the Messenger of Allaah, and establish regular prayer 
    and pay zakaah. If they do that, then their blood and wealth are safe from 
    me, except in cases dictated by Islamic law, and their reckoning will be 
    with Allaah.” Saheeh –  agreed upon. 

    So prayer and zakaah are mentioned alongside the 
    Shahaadatayn. According to another version: “I have been commanded to fight 
    the people until they say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and if they say Laa ilaaha 
    ill-Allaah, then their blood and wealth are safe from me, except in cases 
    dictated by Islamic law, and their reckoning will be with Allaah.” Prayer is 
    one of these conditions and zakaah is one of these conditions. 

    What the believer must do is fear Allaah, and everyone who 
    claims to be a Muslim must fear Allaah and offer the five prayers regularly, 
    for prayer is the foundation of Islam and it is the greatest of the five 
    pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn. Whoever neglects it neglects his 
    religious commitment, and whoever does not pray has left the faith. We ask 
    Allaah to keep us safe and sound. 

    This is the truth and this is what is correct. Some of the 
    scholars said that such a person is not a kaafir in the sense of major kufr, 
    rather his kufr is minor kufr, and he is a sinner who has committed a grave 
    sin, one that is worse than adultery, worse than stealing, worse than 
    drinking alcohol. But he is not a kaafir in the sense of major kufr unless 
    he denies that prayer is obligatory. This is the view of a number of 
    scholars. But the correct view is that which is indicated by the words of 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is that 
    such a person is a kaafir in the sense of major kufr, as stated in the 
    ahaadeeth quoted above, because he has neglected the pillar or foundation of 
    Islam which is prayer. 

    We should not take this matter lightly. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn 
    Shaqeeq al-‘Aqeeli, the great Taabi’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 
    “The companions of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) did not regard the omission of anything as being kufr, except in the 
    case of prayer.” 
And he mentioned that the 
    Sahaabah were unanimously agreed that the one who did not pray was a kaafir 
    in their view. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. 

    So we must be careful, and adhere to this important 
    obligation and not take the matter lightly if someone does not pray. We 
    should not eat meat slaughtered by him, or invite him to any feasts, or 
    accept his invitations. Rather he should be shunned until he repents to 
    Allaah and starts to pray. We ask Allaah to guide us all. End quote. 

    Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 
    10/274-276 

    See also the answer to question no. 
    1553 
And Allaah knows best.