Fatawa of the Makkah Haram-1411-10a

The reciter: And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in what he narrated from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: . And from Ibn 'Umar, to the same effect.

The Shaykh : Yes. His statement—meaning the author's—: from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
means that its time has entered, because the presence of the prayer is marked by the entry of its time. which is eaten at the time of the evening meal, meaning at the end of the day, means before the prayer. Why? Because when the evening meal is present, the soul becomes attached to it, especially given the need for it. So if the soul becomes attached to it and then the person goes to pray, what happens to his mind? It becomes preoccupied with the evening meal. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that a person should begin with the evening meal and then pray. Good.
Is water like the evening meal? Meaning, if water is present and he is thirsty, and the prayer is present, does he pray or drink? Yes, he drinks first. And so it is with everything to which the soul becomes attached and the mind becomes preoccupied: if the prayer is present and this distracting thing is present, he should begin with it.