1136 - الحَثُّ عَلَى الصَّلاةِ في أوَّلِ وَقتِها

1136. ENJOINMENT OF PERFORMING THE Prayer at the Earliest Moment of THE TIME PRESCRIBED FOR IT

3639.الإمامُ الباقرُ عليه السلام : اِعلَمْ أنَّ أوَّلَ الوَقتِ أبَداً أفضَلُ، فَعَجِّلْ بِالخَيرِ ما استَطَعتَ، وأحَبُّ الأعمالِ إلى اللَّهِ عَزَّوجلَّ ما داوَمَ العَبدُ علَيهِ وإن قَلَّ .¹

3639.Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Know that the earliest time is always the best, so hasten to perform good whenever you can. The most beloved acts in the eyes of Allah, Mighty and Exalted, are those that the servant performs regularly, even though they be few in number.’²

3640.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام : فَضلُ الوَقتِ الأوَّلِ على الآخِرِ كَفَضلِ الآخِرَةِ على الدُّنيا .³

3640.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The virtue of the earliest opportunity over the latest is as the virtue of the Hereafter over this world’s life.’⁴

3641.بحار الأنوار عن القزّازِ : خَرَجَ الرِّضا عليه السلام يَستَقبِلُ بعضَ الطالِبِيِّينَ وجاءَ وقتُ الصَّلاةِ، فَمالَ إلى‏ قَصرٍ هناكَ فَنَزَلَ تحتَ صَخرَةٍ فقالَ : أذِّنْ، فقلتُ : نَنتَظِرُ يَلحَقْ بنا أصحابُنا، فقالَ : غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لكَ، لا تُؤَخِّرَنَّ صَلاةً عن أوَّلِ وَقتِها إلى‏ آخِرِ وَقتِها مِن غَيرِ عِلَّةٍ، علَيكَ أبَداً بأوَّلِ الوَقتِ، فَأذَّنتُ وصَلَّينا .⁵

3641. al-Qazzaz narrated, ‘al-Rida (AS) went out to await the arrival of some people who were coming to visit him when the time for prayer set in. He went towards a nearby fort and took shade under a rock, saying, ‘Announce the call for prayer.’ I replied, ‘Why don’t we wait for our companions to catch up with us?’ He replied, ‘May Allah forgive you. Do not ever delay the prayer from the earliest moment of its onset to the latest without a good excuse. You must always pray at the earliest time’, so I announced the call for prayer and we prayed.’⁶