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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Greater Sins Volume 3 Thirty-sixth Greater Sin: Omitting Prayer Intentionally The thirty-sixth greater sin is to omit prayer intentionally. The traditions of Imam Taqi (a.s.), Imam Riďa (a.s.) Imam Mūsa Kadhim (a.s.) and Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) (mentioned in Abdul Azīm’s Sahifa) support this view. This fact is also confirmed by the tradition of Amir ul-Mu’minīn (a.s.). In Islam prayer is an obligatory duty which has to be performed without fail.

Anyone who does not offer prayer considering it non-obligatory is an infidel and outside the pale of Islam. To deny prayer is to deny the Holy Prophet (S) and to deny the Holy Qur’an and such a person is an unbeliever. Many traditions have been recorded in this connection[^1] Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says, A person came to the Holy Prophet (S) and begged him for a moral lesson.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said, “Do not omit prayer intentionally because whoever leaves prayer voluntarily has exited from the pale of Islam.[^2] The Messenger of Allah (S) says: “The thing that turns a Muslim into Kafir is to omit prayer intentionally or to offer prayer considering it insignificant and unimportant.”[^3] The Holy Prophet (S) also says, “There is no difference between faith and infidelity except the omitting of prayer[^4] Allamah Majlisi (r.a.) writes in the commentary of al-Kāfi that some of these traditions emphasise that to omit all or some obligatory acts is infidelity.

This itself is one of the connotations of ‘Kufr’ as recorded in ayats and traditions. It is mentioned, ‘One who intentionally omits prayer is a Kafir, one who doesn’t pay Zakat is a Kafir one who omits Hajj is a Kafir.’ In the traditions omitting obligatory acts is not separately mentioned as a greater sin. This is perhaps so, because when a person commits an act which is Harām, he is under some compulsion, either emotional or physical or social or of some other need which he seeks to fulfil.

For example a person may commit fornication due to a physical urge; or under the influence of anger he may use foul language or may even commit murder and do injustice to others in many other ways. But in the case of omitting obligatory acts and particular prayers, there are no such compulsions. Obligatory acts are avoided by those who consider religious commands insignificant and attach no importance to them; and this amounts to denial of the Almighty.