Are There 15 Punishments for One Who Neglects Prayer?

The hadith “Whoever neglects Prayer, Allah will send 15 punishments upon him, 6 in this world, 3 when he is dying, 3 in the grave, and 3 when he emerges from the grave …” is a fabricated (mawdu`) hadith that is falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sheikh Abdul-`Aziz ibn Baz, the late mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated: “With regard to the hadith which the author of this pamphlet attributes to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the punishment of the one who does not pray, and which says that 15 punishments will be sent upon him, and so on, this is one of the fabricated hadiths that are falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as was stated by the scholars such as Al-Hafiz Adh-Dhahabi, Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, and others.”

Similarly the Standing Committee for Islamic Research and Ifta’ declared this hadith to be false. Among the things they mentioned that are worth quoting here is this: “What has been narrated from Allah and from His Messenger concerning the punishment of the one who does not pray is sufficient. Allah says: ‘Verily, As Salah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours’ (Al-Nissa’: 103). “And Allah says of the people of Hell: ‘“What has caused you to enter Hell?”’ They will say: “We were not of those who used to offer the Salah (prayers)”’ (Al-Muddaththir: 42-43). “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘The covenant that stands between us and them is Prayer; whoever gives up Prayer is a non-Muslim’ (At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah). And there are other verses and hadiths which speak of giving up Prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described it as disbelief.”

The late Sheikh Ibn `Uthaymeen, a prominent Saudi Muslim scholar, (may Allah shower mercy on his soul) said: “This hadith is mawdu` (fabricated) and falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible to propagate it unless it is accompanied by a statement that it is fabricated, so that the people will have a clear understanding about it.