Preface
All praise belongs to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help and His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from our misdeeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomever He allows to stray, no one can guide. I testify that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
To proceed: among the matters on which the Muslims are unanimous is that deliberately abandoning the obligatory prayer is one of the gravest sins and most heinous major offenses. Its sin outweighs the sin of murder, the seizure of wealth, fornication, theft, and drinking wine, and the one who does so exposes himself to Allah’s punishment, wrath, and disgrace in this world and the Hereafter. (1)
(1) Ibn al-Qayyim, Kitab al-Salat wa Hukm Tarikiha (The Book of Prayer and the Ruling on One Who Abandons It), p. 16. The Qur’an repeatedly exalts the rank of prayer and warns of the severe sin incurred by anyone who abandons it or treats it lightly. Allah says: “Then there succeeded them a generation who neglected the prayer and pursued their desires; they will meet utter loss, except those who repent” (Maryam 19:59-60). He also says: “So woe to those who pray, yet are heedless of their prayer, those who show off and withhold even the smallest charity” (al-Maun 107:4-7). And He says: “What led you to Saqar? They will reply, ‘We were not among those who prayed’” (al-Muddathir 74:42-43). Many other noble verses ring in the ears and strike the heart with the same admonition. Numerous hadiths likewise relate that the Prophet ﷺ described the enormity of the sin borne by the one who abandons, neglects, or grows lax about the prayer. [5]