One of the consequences of abandoning prayer is that God removes blessing and abundance from a person's life and sustenance.
What Are the Consequences of Abandoning Prayer?
One of the effects of abandoning prayer is that God removes blessings and abundance from a person’s life and sustenance.
Abandoning prayer is a sign of ingratitude, denial of divine blessings, and essentially tearing down the pillar and foundation of religion—since prayer is the cornerstone of faith. Neglecting prayer and worship renders a person’s creation and life meaningless and futile, while in reality, humans were created to worship. Abandoning prayer and supplication deprives a person of the most delightful states of human experience.
Prayer is one of the key pillars of Islam and a special form of worship that Muslims perform five times a day. According to the Qur’an and numerous evidences, prayer has been a divine obligation since the creation of Prophet Adam.
Prayer is the most important religious act; if accepted by God, other acts of worship will also be accepted, and if rejected, other deeds will be rejected as well. Just as if a person washes themselves in a river five times a day, no filth will remain on them—so too the five daily prayers cleanse a person of sins.
In the Holy Qur’an—which is a complete guide for humanity’s prosperous life—there are:
1 verse about khums (alms tax),
13 verses about fasting,
18 verses about Hajj (pilgrimage),
23 verses about zakat (charitable giving),
But over 122 verses are about prayer, highlighting its great importance, rules, and profound matters.
Some narrations even consider the one who deliberately abandons prayer as a disbeliever:
“Whoever deliberately abandons prayer has committed disbelief…”
(Allamah Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 30, p. 673)
There are two types of people:
Negligent: They may miss prayers out of laziness, ignorance, or carelessness—not considered theological disbelievers, but they have denied a divine blessing and deserve divine punishment, though they are still considered Muslims.
Deniers: Those who reject the very obligation of prayer and thus the religion itself—these are considered fiqh-wise disbelievers. It is not permissible to marry them, and they are considered ritually impure (najis).
Q: We rented a house with friends and found out one of them doesn't pray. He says he believes in God in his heart but doesn't pray. Given our close relationship, should we consider him impure (najis)?
A: Merely neglecting prayer and other obligatory religious duties does not make a Muslim an apostate or disbeliever, nor does it make them impure. As long as apostasy isn’t certain, they should be treated like other Muslims.
(Source: Hadana, from the official legal rulings of Ayatollah Khamenei)
Q: When is a person who neglects prayer considered a disbeliever, and are they impure?
A: Simply abandoning prayer does not constitute disbelief, although it is a major sin.
The sin of abandoning prayer is more severe than many other haram (forbidden) acts. That’s because people may commit some haram acts without intending disrespect to God—rather, they fall prey to their base desires and might even repent afterward. However, abandoning prayer is not typically due to lust but rather reflects weak faith and disregard for God's command.
A prayer performed with reluctance, seen as a chore or a useless task, brings no joy. Those who only seek material pleasures from this world should remember: life is passing by quickly, and eventually, we’ll all be buried and held accountable. If you don’t have time to pray now, take a few minutes to consider: How will you answer God when asked why you didn’t pray? Will you say, “I took a pill for it” or “I hadn’t reached the age of maturity”?
Losing the protection of God and His Messenger:
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
"Whoever deliberately abandons prayer without a valid reason has removed himself from the protection of God and His Messenger."
(‘Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha, vol. 1, p. 285)
Deprived of divine help:
In every prayer, the worshiper says,
"You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help."
The non-praying person cuts themselves off from this divine assistance.
Subject to Satan’s control:
Imam Sadiq (AS) narrated from his father that the Prophet (PBUH) said:
"Satan fears the son of Adam as long as he performs his five daily prayers on time. When he becomes neglectful of them, Satan becomes bold and leads him into greater sins."
(Thawab al-A‘mal wa ‘Iqab al-A‘mal, p. 230)
