[previous post in the series - # 3:Practicing Magic]
The Fourth Major Sin - Not Praying.
Allah (swt) says in the Quran:
“Then there succeeded them a generation which neglected prayers and followed lust. They will meet with destruction (Ghayy), excepting the one who repents and believes and acts righteously.” (Surah Maryam 19:59-60)
Ibn ‘Abbas (ra) explained that ‘neglected’ here does not mean that they completely abandoned prayers, but that they delayed them to the end of their prescribed times. Sa’id bin Musayyab, a great Imam following the generation of the companions, elaborated on this, saying: “A person neglects prayers if he delays the noon prayer up to afternoon prayer time, afternoon prayer up to almost sunset prayer time, sunset prayer up to evening prayer time, and evening prayer up to morning prayer time, while delaying morning prayer until just before sunrise. If anyone dies without repentance while continuing in this manner, Allah has promised Ghayy for him, and that is a valley in Hell which is very deep and has foul food”.


