Soundness of the Narration About Fifteen Punishments for One Who Neglects Prayer

Question: 20897

My question is regarding these hadiths I was given in an email.
I just want to know if they are authentic before I pass them on. Jazakallahu khayran.
Hadith of Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
The one who disdains the prayers will receive fifteen punishments from Allah. Six punishments in this lifetime, three while dying , three in the grave and three on the Day of Judgement.
The six punishments in this life:
1. Allah takes away blessings from his age (makes his life misfortunate)
2.Allah does not accept his plea (du'a)
3.Allah erases the features of good people from his face.
4.He will be detested by all creatures on earth.
5.Allah does not reward him for his good deeds (no thawab)
6.He will not be included in the du'a (supplications) of good people.
The three punishments while dying:
1. He dies humiliated.
2. He dies hungry.
3. He dies thirsty. Even if he drinks the water of all the seas he will still be thirsty.
The three punishments in the grave:
1. Allah tightens his grave until his chest ribs come over each other.
2. Allah pours on him fire with embers.
3. Allah sets on him a snake called "the brave", "the bold" which hits him from morning until afternoon for leaving the Fajr (early morning) prayer, from the afternoon until Asr (late afternoon) for leaving the Dhuhr (noon) prayer and so on. With each strike he sinks 70 yards under the ground.
The three punishments on the day of judgement:
1. Allah sends who would accompany him to hell pulling him on the face.
2. Allah gives him an angry look that makes the flesh of his face fall down.
3. Allah judges him strictly and orders him to be thrown in hell.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly:

The hadeeth, “Whoever neglects prayer, Allah will send fifteen punishments upon him, six in this world, three when he is dying, three in the grave and three when he emerges from the grave…” is a fabricated (mawdoo’) hadeeth which is falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Concerning this hadeeth, Sh. Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in the magazine al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah (22/329): With regard to the hadeeth which the author of this pamphlet attributes to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning the punishment of the one who does not pray, and which says that fifteen punishments will be sent upon him, etc., this is one of the fabricated ahadeeth (reports) that are falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as was stated by the scholars (may Allah have mercy on him) such as al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi in Lisan al-Meezan, and al-Hafiz ibn Hajar and others.

Similarly the Standing Committee issued a fatwa, no. 8689, declaring this hadeeth to be false, as it says in Fatawa al-Lajnah, 4/468. Among the things mentioned in this fatwa which it is worth quoting here are:

What has been narrated from Allah and from His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning the punishment of the one who does not pray is sufficient. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, as‑salah (the formal prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.”

[al-Nisa 4:103]

And Allah says of the people of Hell (interpretation of the meaning):

“‘What has caused you to enter Hell?’

They will say: ‘We were not of those who used to offer the salah (prayers).’”

[al-Muddaththir 74:42-43]

And He mentioned among their attributes the fact that they did not pray.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives up prayer is a kafir (disbeliever).” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasai, 431; Ibn Majah, 1079. Classed as saheeh (authentic) by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2113. And there are other verses and ahadeeth (narrations) which speak of giving up the prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described it as kufr (disbelief).