Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) condemns the one who is...

Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) condemns the one who is negligent of his Salat, and know that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) does not accept anything except that which is performed with sincerity.” 11) The late Marja’, Ayatullah al-‘Uzma al-Hajj as-Sayyid Baha ad-Dini gave a lot of importance to the performance of Salat at its prescribed time and he used to encourage those who would perform the Salat on time by telling them, “If you want to attain great blessings, then you should not leave out the Salat in its prime time.” Awaiting the Time of Salat 12) The Holy Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said, “If someone prepares himself for his obligatory (wajib) Salat to the extent that he is awaiting the time of the Salat and he prays his Salat in its prime time and performs the Ruku’ and Sujud properly, with attention and humility, and then he is busy in the praise of Allah (Ta’qibat) until the time for the next Salat sets in and during this time period, does not indulge in vain or useless actions, then Allah will write for him the reward of performing Hajj and ‘Umrah and will classify him as one of the ‘Illyin (the most high).” Delaying the Time of Salat 13) Hujjat ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) has said, “Cursed is the one, cursed is the one, who delays his Salat al-Fajr until the time when the stars disappear.” He then said, “Cursed is the one, cursed is the one who delays his Maghrib Salat until the time that the stars come out.” (1) 14) Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said, “There is no action more beloved in the eyes of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) than the Salat; therefore, do not let any affair of the world stop you from performing the Salat right when its prescribed time sets in, since Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) reproaches you in Surah Ma’un and has commanded the people that, ‘Woe to the people who perform the Salat, but have accustomed themselves to negligence in regards to the Salat.’ Meaning that woe upon the person who performs his prayer, however, he is negligent of the timings of the Salat and is careless in performing the Salat in its prime time.” 15) The Prophet of Islam (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) told Imam Ali (peace be upon him), “With complete and proper Wudhu’, stand up for the Salat at its prime time, and do not delay it from its appointed time because delaying the Salat without a (valid) reason brings about the wrath of Allah.” To close this discussion, we narrate an incident about the late Imam Khomeini (may Allah raise his rank).