Delaying prayer until night-time because of work
Q: 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?
A: 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
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