وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، مَوْلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، كَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَّالِهِ إِنَّ أَهَمَّ أَمْرِكُمْ عِنْدِي الصَّلاَةُ فَمَنْ حَفِظَهَا وَحَافَظَ عَلَيْهَا حَفِظَ دِينَهُ وَمَنْ ضَيَّعَهَا فَهُوَ لِمَا سِوَاهَا أَضْيَعُ . ثُمَّ كَتَبَ أَنْ صَلُّوا الظُّهْرَ إِذَا كَانَ الْفَىْءُ ذِرَاعًا إِلَى أَنْ يَكُونَ ظِلُّ أَحَدِكُمْ مِثْلَهُ وَالْعَصْرَ وَالشَّمْسُ مُرْتَفِعَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ نَقِيَّةٌ قَدْرَ مَا يَسِيرُ الرَّاكِبُ فَرْسَخَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلاَثَةً قَبْلَ غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْمَغْرِبَ إِذَا غَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَالْعِشَاءَ إِذَا غَابَ الشَّفَقُ إِلَى ثُلُثِ اللَّيْلِ فَمَنْ نَامَ فَلاَ نَامَتْ عَيْنُهُ فَمَنْ نَامَ فَلاَ نَامَتْ عَيْنُهُ فَمَنْ نَامَ فَلاَ نَامَتْ عَيْنُهُ وَالصَّبْحَ وَالنُّجُومُ بَادِيَةٌ مُشْتَبِكَةٌ .
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi', the mawla of Abdullah ibn Umar, that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to his governors saying, "The most important of your affairs in my view is the prayer. Whoever protects it and observes it carefully is protecting his deen, while whoever is negligent about it will be even more negligent about other things." Then he added, "Pray dhuhr any time from when the afternoon shade is the length of your forearm until the length of your shadow matches your height. Pray asr when the sun is still pure white, so that a rider can travel two or three farsakhs before the sun sets. Pray maghrib when the sun has set. Pray isha any time from when the redness in the western sky has disappeared until a third of the night has passed - and a person who sleeps, may he have no rest, a person who sleeps, may he have no rest. And pray subh when all the stars are visible and like a haze in the sky."
Reported by Malik (No. 6).