Delaying Prayer Because of Work ? (Q & A)

Question:

Many workers delay Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers until night-time, giving the
excuse that they are too busy at work or that their clothes are najis
(impure) or not clean. What advice can you give them?




Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible for a Muslim man or woman to delay an
obligatory prayer beyond the proper time, rather every accountable
Muslim man and woman is obliged to perform the prayers on time as much
as they can.

Work is not an excuse for delaying prayer, neither is impurity on
clothes or clothes being dirty. None of these are acceptable excuses.

People should be excused from work at prayer times; at the time of
prayer a worker has to wash the impurity from his clothes, or change
into clean clothes. As for regular dirt (as opposed to impurities), this
does not prevent one from praying in those clothes, so long as that
dirt is not impure and does not have an offensive smell that would
bother other worshippers. But if the dirt or its smell will bother
others, then he has to wash it before praying, or change into clean
clothes so that he can pray in congregation.

It is permissible for those who have legitimate shar’i excuses, such
as those who are sick or are travelling, to combine Zuhr and ‘Asr at the
time of either of them, and to combine Maghrib and ‘Isha’ at the time
of either of them.

This was narrated in the saheeh Sunnah of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is also permissible
to join prayers when there is heavy rain or mud, which cause difficulty
for people.


Fataawa Muhimmah tata’allaq bil-Salaah by Shaykh Ibn Baaz, p. 19