The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives up prayer is a kaafir [disbeliever].”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad and the four authors of al-Sunan with a saheeh isnaad [sound chain of narrators].
“Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers… If you fear, pray on foot, or riding. ”
(Quran 2:238-9)
“But after them there followed a posterity who missed Prayers and followed after lusts soon, then, will they face destruction, except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness.”
(Quran, 19: 59-60).
The Qur’an and the Hadith have repeatedly reiterated the importance and beauty of praying Salah. Among the five pillars of Islam, this one happens to be the most constant and glorified. It is a time when no matter what you’re doing, no matter how preoccupied you are, Allah reminds you of your higher goal in life. He reminds you that no worldly affair is bigger than bowing before Him.
The incident of Miraj also emphasizes the importance of prayer. Initially, Allah ordained 500 times of prayer. He could have simply instructed us to pray 5 times. Why did He begin with 500? Because He wants us to understand that the goal of this life is nothing but to worship Him.
Why People Delay Prayer?
Now many of us are so busy with our fast routines that we don’t find the time to pray at our workplace, college or school. Even if we make a resolve to pray on time, we aren’t able to keep at it because of that “important meeting” or “deadline” or “that class which cannot be missed”. We think we will delay prayer by an hour or so. After all – “What will a minor delay do? I’m still praying within time!!!” That’s how most us think, right?
And that is exactly how most of us fall into the trap of Shaitan. It begins with this thought (which is seemingly unharming), grows into lethargy and eventually breaks your routine of prayer, leading you to sin.
How To Manage Work-Pray Balance?
Praying on time is no gargantuan task. You can take a five minute break from your work and pray in a secluded area. If your workplace does not permit that or does not have a proper prayer room, you can pray anywhere outside. You can literally pray wherever you are as a famous Hadith quotes:
Prophet (peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him) said:
“The (whole) earth has been made a mosque (or a place of prayer) and a means of purification for me, so wherever a man of my ummah may be when the time for prayer comes, let him pray.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 335)
You can also download a Mosque finding app which helps you find the nearest Masjid and helps you earn the additional rewards of congregation.
In a nutshell. it is quintessential for every Muslim to pray on time.
In another hadith Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever keeps on performing Prayers (in its due time), it will be a light, a proof, and redemption for him on the Day of Judgment. Otherwise, he will be assembled with Pharaoh, Qarun Haman, and ‘Ubai Ibn Khalaf.” (Ahmad)