and he gazed at the full moon on the night of its fullness and said, “You will certainly see your Lord just as you now see this moon—you will have no difficulty or crowding in beholding Him. So, if you can avoid being overcome from observing a prayer before sunrise and another before sunset, then do so.” Agreed upon. In another wording: he looked at the moon on the fourteenth night.

1052 – Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever neglects the afternoon prayer, all his deeds are brought to nothing.” Reported by al-Bukhari.

[Commentary]
These hadiths set forth the excellence of the dawn (fajr) and afternoon (ʿasr) prayers. In the first narration the Prophet ﷺ states: “Whoever performs the dawn prayer is under Allah’s protection,” meaning under His covenant and safeguard. Therefore, let Allah not call you to account for violating that protection—do not set out in the morning or engage in any evil deed for which Allah, Exalted is He, would question you in view of the pledge He has taken from you. This shows that the dawn prayer is the key to the day’s prayers—indeed, to all the day’s works—and that it functions as a covenant with Allah whereby the servant undertakes to obey his Lord, fulfilling His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.

Among the virtues of the dawn and afternoon prayers are: 1) Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has appointed over His servants angels who take turns among us