Najafi Q&A: Punishment of Prayer Abandoner

Answer

In the name of Allah, one of the signs of a true believer is that he establishes prayer. Allah the Exalted says: “Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them” [Qur'an 2:3]. You must remember your standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment for accountability, where you will see posts and whips in the hands of angels, and you will have no return to this world—so what will your state be then? If there were a fully empowered religious authority, he would discipline you with lashes so you would submit to the religion, whose foremost pillar is prayer. Allah knows best.

Answer

In the name of Allah, be advised, my son, that it is reported through the infallible Imams (PBUT) that any good deed, even if it is vlaid, is not accepted without prayer. The one who abandons prayer will be resurrected with the infidels. You, my son, have succeeded in repentance from the major crime - drinking intoxicating alcohol, but you are still at the top of the sin, which is abandoning prayer. For your repentance to be accepted of that major sin and all other good deeds are accepted is to repent of the crime of abandoning the prayer. Allah Almighty says "what puts you in the abyss? they say, “we were not among those who committed to prayer” [مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ , قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ ]. Clearly, this verse shows that whoever is not among the worshipers will be in the depths of Hell on the Day of Resurrection. God is the Guide and Knowing.