Question:
What is the punishment from Allah for missing one salah?
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
Fardh ṣalāh (mandatory ritual prayer) is a pillar of Islam. It is a distinctive feature between a believer and non believer. (See Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Abandoning fardh ṣalāh or being lazy about them is a destructive sin which is an act close to disbelief. Missing mandatory prayers leads to a decrease and or difficulty in acquiring sustenance, a bad death, and punishment in the hereafter.
“As for the one who turns away from My remembrance, they shall have a straitened life, and We shall raise them sightless on the Day of Judgment.” (Quran 20:124)
“So, Woe to those performers of ṣalāh ,who are neglectful of their ṣalāh” (Quran 107:4 & 50)
It must be noted that Almighty Allāh is ever forgiving and merciful. If one repents and resumes praying, Allāh will certainly forgive In-shā Allāh.
And Allah knows best.
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Badat
Hadith of the Day Imam
Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto and Director of Mathabah Institute
