Islamic Thoughts

Timeliness Is The Leading Condition For Prayer.

34 : TIMELINESS IS A LEADING CONDITION OF PRAYER

Validation of prayer depends on certain conditions that cannot be missed or imperfectly done. These are 7 outside prayer (i.e. pure body, pure clothes, pure mat, timeliness, facing Qaba, covering private parts and making intention) and 6 are inside prayer (i.e. saying 'God is Great' to begin, standing position, recitation, bowing, prostration, last sitting session). Of these 13 conditions in total, timeliness appears to be the leader of all, supported by the following arguments.

If you give closer look you will see that most other conditions have flexibility while timeliness does not. For example, if you do not have or cannot use water to clean body or making ablution, you must use soil to do 'tayammum' in order to perform prayer on time. If your sickness forces you from standing in prayer, bending in 'ruku' or 'sizda' or sitting for last session, then you are allowed to perform these activities in any comfortable position like sitting, leaning or lying on bed etc. with favorable body postures.

However, under no circumstances, you can deliberately postpone your prayer beyond designated time of prayer. Even in extremely unfavorable situation like in war, you are advised about how can perform prayer in groups or on horseback. But there is no provision for withholding prayer until easier time becomes available probably at night or after ceasefire. In fact, if you scan the Quran or the Hadith, you will nowhere come by the word 'Qada' or expired prayer that is permitted in a planned manner. In Islam, expired prayer is meant to make up prayer that you already missed for reasons beyond your control or intention such as through unbroken sleep, losing consciousness or surgical anesthesia etc.