Some people believe that to miss one of the five formal daily prayers is a sin that will be punished in the here Hereafter. The Sufis believe that prayer is an invitation from God, an invitation to the divine presence. Therefore the missing of the prayer is its own punishment. It is like missing a banquet, in this case a banquet for the soul.

James Fadiman, Robert Frager, Essential Sufism by James Fadiman, editor, Robert Frager, editor