سورة المعارج

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Fudayl said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this verse: وَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلَی صَلَوَاتِهِمْ یُحَافِظُونَ [And those who keep a guard on their prayer]. He said: "It is the obligatory prayer."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Tabrisi in Majma' al-Bayan has narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلَی صَلاتِهِمْ یُحَافِظُونَ [And those who keep a guard on their prayer] — meaning in the obligatory acts and duties [they guard their prayer].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrates from Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) concerning the verse: وَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلَی صَلَوَاتِهِمْ یُحَافِظُونَ [And those who keep a guard on their prayers], that he said: "They are the observers of the five daily prayers from among our Shia."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): وَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلی صَلاتِهِمْ یُحافِظُونَ [And those who keep a guard on their prayer] — these are the possessors of fifty prayers from among our Shia.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurara narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "Whoever performs the obligatory prayer and knows its worth and value, and prefers nothing else over it, Allah writes for him exemption [from punishment] and does not punish him. And whoever performs the obligatory prayer after its first time and prefers other matters over the prayer — that depends on the will of Allah: if He wills, He forgives him, and if He wills, He punishes him."

Fiqh al-Rida (peace be upon him): Know that every prayer has two times: the first time and the last time. The first time is the pleasure of Allah and the last time is the pardon of Allah. And [in another hadith] we narrate that every prayer has three times: the first, the middle and the last. The first time is the pleasure of Allah, its middle is the pardon of Allah, and its last is the forgiveness of Allah. And the first time is the most excellent of them, and no one has the right to choose the last time. The last time has been appointed only for the sick, the infirm and weak, and the traveler. And he said: "A person sometimes performs the prayer at a time [other than the first time], and the time that has slipped from his hand is better for him than his family and his wealth." And he said: "When noon comes, the gates of the heavens are opened, and I do not like anyone to precede me in [good] deeds, because I love that my record be the first record in which a righteous deed is raised." And he said: "After the entry of the time, none of you who is free and untroubled is safe, regarding the abandonment of the prayer, from the calamities and hardships of time. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلی صَلاتِهِمْ یُحافِظُونَ [Those who keep a guard on their prayer] — they guard over the appointed times of the prayers."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَلی صَلاتِهِمْ یُحافِظُونَ [Those who keep a guard on their prayer] — that [guarding] is in the supererogatory prayers in which they call upon [their Lord].