15 Punishments for Not Praying Salah is Not an Authentic Hadith
C.J Ahmed-18.03.2023
There is a false hadith attributed to the prophet (sal) which says,
The one who disdains the prayers will receive fifteen punishments from Allah. Six punishments in this lifetime, three while dying , three in the grave and three on the Day of Judgement.
The six punishments in this life:
1. Allah takes away blessings from his age (makes his life misfortunate)
2.Allah does not accept his plea (du'a)
3.Allah erases the features of good people from his face.
4.He will be detested by all creatures on earth.
5.Allah does not reward him for his good deeds (no thawab)
6.He will not be included in the du'a (supplications) of good people.
The three punishments while dying:
1. He dies humiliated.
2. He dies hungry.
3. He dies thirsty. Even if he drinks the water of all the seas he will still be thirsty.
The three punishments in the grave:
1. Allah tightens his grave until his chest ribs come over each other.
2. Allah pours on him fire with embers.
3. Allah sets on him a snake called "the brave", "the bold" which hits him from morning until afternoon for leaving the Fajr (early morning) prayer, from the afternoon until Asr (late afternoon) for leaving the Dhuhr (noon) prayer and so on. With each strike he sinks 70 yards under the ground.
The three punishments on the day of judgement:
1. Allah sends who would accompany him to hell pulling him on the face.
2. Allah gives him an angry look that makes the flesh of his face fall down.
3. Allah judges him strictly and orders him to be thrown in hell.
This hadith is a false hadith known as Mawdoo. It is a fabricated hadith which has no basis in Islam. Sheikh Abdul Azeez bib Baz said in al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah (22/329), that it is a fabricated hadith and in Fatawa al-Lajnah (Standing Committee issued a fatwa) too declared this hadith to be fabricated an d false as there is source or mention in any of the hadith books about such a hadith.
Abandoning Salah is not disbelief as thought by many. Hudhaifa bin al-Yamaan (rali) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal) said:
“Islaam will be erased just as the decoration of a garment is (worn out and) erased, until it will not be known what is fasting, nor prayer, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity; and the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, (i.e., the Qur’aan) will be taken away (from the mus-hafs and breasts of the people) in one night such that not (even) an aayah from it will remain on earth. And groups of people will remain – the old people – saying: ‘We saw our forefathers upon this statement: ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has the right to worshiped but Allaah),’ so we also say it.’”
(Then), Silah bin Zufar said to Hudhaifa: ‘What will ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah’ benefit them when they don’t know what is prayer, nor fasting, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity?’ Hudhaifa turned away from him. Then (Silah) repeated it to (Hudhaifa) three times, and every time Hudhaifa would turn away from him. Then he turned toward him on the third time and said three times: ‘O Silah! It will save them from the Fire."
(Sahih Ibn Majah)
This hadith proves clearly that the one who bears witness that "None has the right to worship Allah" will enter paradise even if one has abandoned prayer. Imam Ahmed was one scholar who had wrongly given the verdict that the one who abandons prayer is an apostate and must be killed.
The second evidence is in the following hadith
Narrated by Buraidah bin Al-Husaib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: I heard the Prophet (sal) saying:
"The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed an act of Kufr.
(Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and Tirmidhi declared this hadith to be Hasan Sahih)
The above hadith clearly proves from the words of the prophet (sal) that the one who abandons his prayer has only committed an act of kufr and has not become a kafir.
The person who abandons his prayer is a sinner and is doing major sin. Such people are known as rebellious but not disbelievers and the prophet(sal) said further,
‘Whoever says laa ilaaha illAllaah (sincerely) will enter Paradise,’
(Narrated in Silsilat al hadith as Saheeha and authenticated by Albani).
A Muslim has a great chance of forgiveness from Allah(swt) as long he or she does not do shirk.Shirk is a sin which Allah won't forgive.Allah says in the Quran:
‘Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills.’
(Al-Quran-4:48)
Even in this scenario, there is evidence from the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim we see a man who was going to die told his family to desecrate his body and scatter it so that Allah will punish him in a way like no one else. After his death and when he met Allah asked him why he did so. the man replied saying that he feared Allah. Allah(swt) then forgave him and made him enter paradise. The full hadith is as follows,
Abu Huraira (rali) narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A man had indulged himself in sin. When death approached, he enjoined his sons, saying: When I die you should burn me, pulverize me, and scatter me to the winds over the sea. By Allah, if Allah is capable, he will punish me in such a way as he has not punished anyone else. They did that to him and when he stood before his Lord, Allah said to him: What made you do what you did? The man said: Fear and awe of you, O Lord. Thus, Allah forgave him due to that.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
In this hadith, the man had an error in his belief in Allah which could amount to shirk and kufr because he believed that Allah cannot punish him altogether but Allah forgave him because of his intentions. Imam Ibn Qayyim al Jawzi explained this hadith by stating,
“Despite this error in belief, Allah forgave the man and had mercy upon him because of his ignorance. The knowledge about the providence of Allah that had reached him was not denied out of stubbornness or an intention to lie.”
(Madārij al-Sālikīn 1/347)
This man clearly did shirk but Allah forgave him because he did it in fear of Allah. This hadith proves that it is Allah who can judge a person and stating that a man who abandons prayer is a kafir and will abide in hellfire forever is the view point of the kawarij who make Irja (declaring a person kafir due to a major sin) upon the Muslim ummah.
The only exception would be for the one who rejects prayers by stating that the obligatory prayers is not part of Islam. This will make the person an apostate because he is rejecting one of the fundamentals of Islam. It is narrated in the hadith of Abu Dawud and authenticated by sheikh Albani that after the death of prophet(sal) the Arab clans apostatized by stating that the payment of zakath is no more after the prophet(sal) Abu Bakr(rali) declared war against them because they made a distinction on zakath.
There is a false hadith attributed to the prophet (sal) which says,
The one who disdains the prayers will receive fifteen punishments from Allah. Six punishments in this lifetime, three while dying , three in the grave and three on the Day of Judgement.
The six punishments in this life:
1. Allah takes away blessings from his age (makes his life misfortunate)
2.Allah does not accept his plea (du'a)
3.Allah erases the features of good people from his face.
4.He will be detested by all creatures on earth.
5.Allah does not reward him for his good deeds (no thawab)
6.He will not be included in the du'a (supplications) of good people.
The three punishments while dying:
1. He dies humiliated.
2. He dies hungry.
3. He dies thirsty. Even if he drinks the water of all the seas he will still be thirsty.
The three punishments in the grave:
1. Allah tightens his grave until his chest ribs come over each other.
2. Allah pours on him fire with embers.
3. Allah sets on him a snake called "the brave", "the bold" which hits him from morning until afternoon for leaving the Fajr (early morning) prayer, from the afternoon until Asr (late afternoon) for leaving the Dhuhr (noon) prayer and so on. With each strike he sinks 70 yards under the ground.
The three punishments on the day of judgement:
1. Allah sends who would accompany him to hell pulling him on the face.
2. Allah gives him an angry look that makes the flesh of his face fall down.
3. Allah judges him strictly and orders him to be thrown in hell.
This hadith is a false hadith known as Mawdoo. It is a fabricated hadith which has no basis in Islam. Sheikh Abdul Azeez bib Baz said in al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah (22/329), that it is a fabricated hadith and in Fatawa al-Lajnah (Standing Committee issued a fatwa) too declared this hadith to be fabricated an d false as there is source or mention in any of the hadith books about such a hadith.
Abandoning Salah is not disbelief as thought by many. Hudhaifa bin al-Yamaan (rali) said that the Messenger of Allah (sal) said:
“Islaam will be erased just as the decoration of a garment is (worn out and) erased, until it will not be known what is fasting, nor prayer, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity; and the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, (i.e., the Qur’aan) will be taken away (from the mus-hafs and breasts of the people) in one night such that not (even) an aayah from it will remain on earth. And groups of people will remain – the old people – saying: ‘We saw our forefathers upon this statement: ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has the right to worshiped but Allaah),’ so we also say it.’”
(Then), Silah bin Zufar said to Hudhaifa: ‘What will ‘laa ilaaha illAllaah’ benefit them when they don’t know what is prayer, nor fasting, nor the rituals of Hajj, nor charity?’ Hudhaifa turned away from him. Then (Silah) repeated it to (Hudhaifa) three times, and every time Hudhaifa would turn away from him. Then he turned toward him on the third time and said three times: ‘O Silah! It will save them from the Fire."
(Sahih Ibn Majah)
This hadith proves clearly that the one who bears witness that "None has the right to worship Allah" will enter paradise even if one has abandoned prayer. Imam Ahmed was one scholar who had wrongly given the verdict that the one who abandons prayer is an apostate and must be killed.
The second evidence is in the following hadith
Narrated by Buraidah bin Al-Husaib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: I heard the Prophet (sal) saying:
"The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed an act of Kufr.
(Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and Tirmidhi declared this hadith to be Hasan Sahih)
The above hadith clearly proves from the words of the prophet (sal) that the one who abandons his prayer has only committed an act of kufr and has not become a kafir.
The person who abandons his prayer is a sinner and is doing major sin. Such people are known as rebellious but not disbelievers and the prophet(sal) said further,
‘Whoever says laa ilaaha illAllaah (sincerely) will enter Paradise,’
(Narrated in Silsilat al hadith as Saheeha and authenticated by Albani).
A Muslim has a great chance of forgiveness from Allah(swt) as long he or she does not do shirk.Shirk is a sin which Allah won't forgive.Allah says in the Quran:
‘Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills.’
(Al-Quran-4:48)
Even in this scenario, there is evidence from the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim we see a man who was going to die told his family to desecrate his body and scatter it so that Allah will punish him in a way like no one else. After his death and when he met Allah asked him why he did so. the man replied saying that he feared Allah. Allah(swt) then forgave him and made him enter paradise. The full hadith is as follows,
Abu Huraira (rali) narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A man had indulged himself in sin. When death approached, he enjoined his sons, saying: When I die you should burn me, pulverize me, and scatter me to the winds over the sea. By Allah, if Allah is capable, he will punish me in such a way as he has not punished anyone else. They did that to him and when he stood before his Lord, Allah said to him: What made you do what you did? The man said: Fear and awe of you, O Lord. Thus, Allah forgave him due to that.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
In this hadith, the man had an error in his belief in Allah which could amount to shirk and kufr because he believed that Allah cannot punish him altogether but Allah forgave him because of his intentions. Imam Ibn Qayyim al Jawzi explained this hadith by stating,
“Despite this error in belief, Allah forgave the man and had mercy upon him because of his ignorance. The knowledge about the providence of Allah that had reached him was not denied out of stubbornness or an intention to lie.”
(Madārij al-Sālikīn 1/347)
This man clearly did shirk but Allah forgave him because he did it in fear of Allah. This hadith proves that it is Allah who can judge a person and stating that a man who abandons prayer is a kafir and will abide in hellfire forever is the view point of the kawarij who make Irja (declaring a person kafir due to a major sin) upon the Muslim ummah.
The only exception would be for the one who rejects prayers by stating that the obligatory prayers is not part of Islam. This will make the person an apostate because he is rejecting one of the fundamentals of Islam. It is narrated in the hadith of Abu Dawud and authenticated by sheikh Albani that after the death of prophet(sal) the Arab clans apostatized by stating that the payment of zakath is no more after the prophet(sal) Abu Bakr(rali) declared war against them because they made a distinction on zakath.