Could there be an excuse for not establishing prayer?
As it is known, ritual prayer (salah) is the most important one of the acts of worship commanded by Islam. It is the first one out of the five pillars on which Islam is built after kalimat al-shahadah. It is fardh upon every Muslim who is sane and at the age of puberty to establish prayer. It is a sin not to establish prayer or to postpone it to establish as qada later without any legitimate excuse which would make it permissible to postpone it. Prayer cannot be postponed to establish as qada later if there is not a legitimate excuse such as falling asleep, forgetting, and being too sick to even establish it by head or eye moves. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said “If one of you falls asleep or forgets to establish a prayer in time, he should establish it when he wakes up or remembers to do.” (Bukhari, Mawaqit, 37; Muslim, Masajid, 314-316).
Conditions such as being too busy, working for the sustenance of family members, and travelling cannot be excuses to postpone prayer. It is stated in the Holy Qur’an as follows, “[Are] men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah and performance of prayer and giving of zakah. They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about.” (Nur,24/37).
The employer or the authorized person of a workplace needs to allow his employees and workers, who want to establish prayer, to establish their Friday prayers and daily prayers (five times). However, workers should not slack off and should get permission from their employers or authorized persons in order to protect the working discipline. Even if they do not give permission, the prayer established is valid. A person who works in a place where s/he cannot have the opportunity to establish prayer needs to search for another job that will give him/her this opportunity.
If workers search for a suitable job but cannot find it, they may establish prayers by combining (jam’) dhuhr and ‘asr, by either establishing dhuhr and ‘asr prayers early in dhuhr prayer’s time, or establishing them together late in ‘asr prayer’s time; and by combining maghrib and ‘isha, by either establishing maghrib and ‘isha prayers together late in ‘isha time or establishing them together early in maghrib prayer’s time. However, they should not forget that this is a ruling for situations of absolute necessity.
Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWAS
How Were The Numbers Of Rakats And The Ways To Perform Prayer Determined?
