It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: A servant’s performing prayer in the house is light, so whoever wishes, let him illuminate his house.

Anas bin Hakim Dhabbi says: I became fearful during the time of Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad, so I came to Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah Munawwarah. He asked me about my lineage, and I told him. Then he said: O young man! Shall I not narrate to you a hadith, perhaps Allah Almighty will benefit you through it? I said: Yes, why not, may Allah have mercy on you. He said: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, the first thing about which the servants will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection is the prayer (salah). Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to His angels, while He knows best: Look at My servant’s prayer, has he performed it completely or is it deficient? If it is complete, it will be recorded as complete for him, and if there is any deficiency in it, Allah Almighty will say: Look, does My servant have any voluntary prayers? If he has voluntary prayers, He will say: Complete My servant’s obligatory prayers with his voluntary prayers. Then the rest of the deeds will be accounted for in the same manner.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: When you go to the people of Egypt, tell them that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: The first thing for which a servant will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection is the obligatory prayer. If it is complete, then it is fine; otherwise, its deficiency will be made up from his voluntary prayers. Then the same procedure will be applied to all other obligatory deeds.

A companion of the Messenger narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The first thing for which a servant will be held accountable is his prayer. If he has completed it, it will be recorded as complete, and if there is any deficiency in it, Allah Almighty will say: Look, do you find any voluntary prayers of My servant? Complete his obligatory prayer with that. Then, zakat will be accounted for in the same way, and then other deeds as well.

Abdullah bin Sulaiman bin Zaid bin Thabit says: After finishing the Zuhr prayer, we went with Kharijah bin Zaid to Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: Girl! See, has the time for prayer arrived? She said: Yes. So we said to him: We have just finished offering Zuhr with the Imam. Nevertheless, he performed the Asr prayer and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray like this.

Mawla Ibn Abbas, Ziyad bin Abi Ziyad says: Umar and I finished the Zuhr prayer, the governor of Madinah, Hisham bin Ismail, had led the prayer. Then we went to visit Amr bin Abdullah bin Abi Talha to inquire about his health, as he was ill. We did not sit with him, but standing, we asked about his condition, and then we returned from there and went to Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) at his house. His house was next to Abu Talha's house. While we were sitting with him, a girl came and said: Abu Hamzah! Pray the prayer. We said: May Allah have mercy on you, which prayer? She said: The Asr prayer. We said: We have just now prayed the Zuhr prayer. She said: You have neglected the prayer to the extent that you have forgotten it, or she said: The prayer has been so neglected that you have forgotten it. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: I and the Hour have been sent like these two fingers (bringing them close together). Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, raised his index and middle fingers and gestured with them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Ali! Do not delay three things: the prayer when its time arrives, the funeral when it is present, and the marriage of a woman who has no husband, when you find a suitable man for her.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Indeed, so-and-so slept through the night and did not pray. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Satan urinated in that man's ears.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (ra) has also narrated a similar type of Prophetic hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: After me, there will be rulers who will delay the prayer from its appointed time, so you should perform the prayer at its proper time, and consider the prayer performed with them as voluntary.