According To Islam, Is Neglecting Salah A Sin?

Muslims are obligated to pray the ritual prayers (Salah) five times a day as written in the Quran and the Hadith (Qs 2:238, 11:114, and 24:58, Sahih Al-Bukhari 227). Is neglecting Salah a sin?

Neglecting Salah is a Major Sin

The Sunnah clearly says that “the one who neglects the prayer [Salah] is guilty of Kufr Akbar [disbelief in Allah] which puts him beyond the pale of Islam” (Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen).

The Quran states:“[Those] who have given up As-Salaat [the prayers] and have followed lusts; so they will be thrown in Hell”(Qs 19:59).

Can even the purist Muslim say that he has faithfully completed Salah five times a day from his youth until his death? Have you done this? Can you avoid hell if you have broken this essential Islamic law?

Will Good Deeds Cancel Bad Deeds?

According to a hadith, Muhammad said:”The first thing for which a person will be brought to account . . . will be his Salah. If it is found to be complete then it will be recorded as complete, and if anything is lacking He will say: ‘Look and see if you can find any voluntary prayers with which to complete what he neglected of his obligatory prayers . . .'” (Hadith, Sunan an-Nasa’i 466).

Do you believe that voluntary prayers will cancel out the failure to observe Salah? Can your good deeds cancel out your missed Salah? Share with us how you answer this important question.

Breaking Allah’s Law Makes Us Guilty

According to Islamic teaching, neglecting Salah is a sin. The Injil reminds us that, “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (Injil, Apostle James, 2:10). Breaking just one law makes us a law-breaker. We deserve Allah’s wrath. Can Salah cancel out sins?

Perfectly Fulfill Salah Cannot Save, But Faith in Isa Can

The Injil declares that salvation is, “not by works, so that no one can boast” (Injil, Ephesians 2:9). No one can earn his/her salvation from doing good works.

Since we are all sinners, how can we be saved from the wrath of Allah? The Injil clearly says that salvation is by the “riches of Allah’s grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus [Isa Al-Masih] . . . it is by grace you have been saved, through faith [in Isa]” (Injil, Ephesians 2:5, 8-9).
Therefore, trying to perfectly fulfill Salah will not save you from the judgement of hell. It is only by faith in what Isa has already done. Email us to learn how Isa Al-Masih can save you from your sins.
(Author – Jono)

Questions for Contemplation

1. How often have you failed to complete Salah every day in the correct way?
2. How can our good deeds cancel out our bad deeds?
3. According to the Injil, who do we need to have faith in to be saved from the consequences of our sins? Whose grace makes this possible?

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