and followed their desires; they will therefore meet perdition.” Some of the early generations said: “Neglecting prayer means delaying it beyond its appointed time and failing to fulfil its requirements.” They said: “They still used to pray; had they abandoned prayer, they would have been disbelievers.” For it is authentically established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Between a servant and associating partners with Allah lies only the abandonment of prayer.”

He also said:

“The covenant between us and them is prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved.”

It is related in a hadith:

“When a servant performs his prayer fully, it ascends with a brilliance like that of the sun, saying: ‘May Allah preserve you as you have preserved me.’ But if he does not perform it fully, it is folded up as a garment is folded, and his face is struck with it. It says: ‘May Allah let you go to ruin as you have neglected me.’”

In the Sunan collections, it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“A servant may finish his prayer with only half of it recorded to his credit, or only a third, or only a quarter, or only a fifth, or only a sixth.” He went on until he said: “Or only a tenth.”

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “You have only as much of your prayer as you were mindful of.”

His words, “and followed their desires,” refer to someone who is distracted by some form of desire—such as dancing, singing, and the like—from establishing prayer as Allah Most High commanded His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

In the two Sahīh collections, it is related:

“A man entered the mosque and prayed two units of prayer. He then came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him. He replied: ‘And peace be upon you. Go back