The story of the snake in the grave and the hadith regarding the punishments of the one who abandons prayer

The questioner:
Never. And Abu Dawud says: Do you hear from people, and is it recorded in the papers, that one of them, when he is given his food from before him?

The Shaykh:
Yes, is

The questioner:
He says: Do you hear from people, and have I read, that one of them, when he was buried in his grave, found a snake in his grave, and it was taking blood from him, and that the snake had bitten part of him, and it was constant? And what some of them say is that this is in the world of separation, if he is given fifteen punishments?

The Shaykh:
The matter is true. The Committee has issued a refutation of the story in which they showed a dead man wrapped in a snake and said this happened in al-Madinah. When the specialists in al-Madinah were asked, they said: Never, this is a lie and it did not happen. Likewise, the hadith that is narrated that the one who abandons prayer is punished with fifteen punishments; this also has no basis. Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a treatise refuting this hadith. There is no doubt that the one who abandons prayer intentionally is a disbeliever, and he has severe punishments, but attributing to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) something he did not say, this is not permissible.