A hadith of Muhammad (peace be upon him)::

Abdullah bin Amar(ra) narrates that once the prophet(peace be upon him) while talking about salat said: "For its votary, salaat shall on
the Day of judgement, be a light for him, an argument in his favour, and a means of his deliverence. Whereas there will be no light, no

defence and no deliverance from doom for him who does not guard his salaat, and he shall meet the fate of Pharoah, Hamaan and Ubbay bin Khalaf."

Everybody knows the Pharoah - the big disbeliever -had been so arrogant that the proclaimed himself "Lord the highest" and made his

people worship him.Hamaan was his chief Minister and accomplice. Ubbay bin Khalaf was the most active and severest enemy of Islam among the disbelievers of Mecca. Before the Hijrah, he used to announce to the prophet (peace be upon him) most insolently,

" I have reared a horse, which i feed very well; I will slay you one day riding on its back."Once the prophet (peace be upon him) replied to him, "Inshaa-allah! you shall meet your end at my hands." In the battle of Uhud, he ran about in the field in search of the prophet (peace be upon him) saying, "If Muhammad (peace be upon him) is not slain today, then I stand no chance of surviving." He at last found the prophet (peace be upon him) and advanced to attack him. The Companions decided to finish him before he reached the prophet, but the prophet (peace be upon him) stopped them. When he came near, the prophet (peace be upon him) took a spear from one of the companions and struck him with it, causing a little scratch on his neck.He staggered and fell down from his horse and then fled towards his camp crying ,"By Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) has killed me!" His people tried to console him and told him that it was only a bruise and there was nothing to worry about, but he would say, "Muhammad (peace be upon him) had once announced to me in Mecca that he would kill me. BY Allah, had he only spat at me, I would be no more." It is said that he cried like a bull. Abu Sufyan, who was very active on that day, put him to shame for crying in that manner over a slight wound, but he said, "Do you know who has inflicted this injury upon me? It was none other than Muhammad (peace be upon him).By Laat and Uzza! (Name to great two goddess) if my agony be distributed over all the people of Hijazz, none of them would survive. Since the time he had declared that he would kill me, I was sure that i would meet my death at his hands. If he only spat at me after that declaration, i would be no more." So he died on his way back, at a day's journey from Mecca.

Look! a disbeliever like Ubbay bin Khalaf is so sure about the truth of the Prophet's words that he does not have the slightest dout about his own death ; but where do we stand? Although we believe in him as the greatest Prophet of Allah, consider his words to be most genuine and boast of our love for him, yet how far do we act upon his advice and how much do we fear the punishments about which he has warned us ! It is for each one of us to ponder over and answer.

Ibn Hajar, while quoting this hadith, he has also mentioned Qaaroon with Pharaoh and others. He writes : "Sharing the fate of these people on the Day of Judgement is due to the fact that it is often the pursuits specific to these guilty persons which cause neglect of salat. If , therefore, a person neglects due to a craving for wealth, he will meet the fate of Qaaroon ; if dur to love of power, then that of Pharaoh ; if due to yearning for attachment to a ruler, then that of Haammaan; and if due to occupation in trade then that of Ubbay Bin Khalaf." Meeting the same fate as theirs, explains fully the severest tortures in store for those who neglect salaat. Although the disbelievers shall have to suffer their doom forever, while the believers will be released after their period of punishment is over and will ultimately be allowed to enter Paradise, yet this period of punishment, who knows, may last for thousands of year.