Chapter on the command to preserve the prescribed prayers and the severe prohibition and warning against abandoning them: Allah the Exalted said

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on the command to preserve the prescribed prayers and the severe prohibition and warning against abandoning them:
Allah the Exalted said:

Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer

حافظوا على الصلوات والصلاة الوسطى

[Al-Baqarah 2:238]

, and He said:

But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way

فإن تابوا وأقاموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة فخلوا سبيلهم

[At-Tawbah 9:5]

.
From Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Which action is dearest to Allah?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Performing As-Salat (the prayer) at its earliest fixed time." I asked, "What is next (in goodness)?" He (ﷺ) said, "Kindness towards parents." I asked, "What is next (in goodness)?" He (ﷺ) said, "To participate in Jihad in the Cause of Allah."

سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أيُّ الأعمال أفضل؟ قال : الصلاة على وقتها . قلتُ : ثم أيّ ؟ قال : بر الوالدين . قلت : ثم أيّ ؟ قال : الجهاد في سبيل الله

Riyad as-Salihin 1286

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Islam is based on five (pillars): testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger; performing of Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat); the payment of Zakat; performing Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House [of Allah (Ka'bah)] ; and Saum (fasting) during the month of Ramadan.

بُني الإسلام على خمس : شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله، وإقام الصلاة، وإيتاء الزكاة، وحج البيت، وصوم رمضان

Riyad as-Salihin 1075

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author said -may Allah have mercy on him- in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on the obligation of preserving the prayers and the warning against wasting them":
The prayers are five, which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has written upon His servants every day and night, by His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He) when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his Lord to lighten the burden for His servants, he said: : And he was asked, meaning: a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about Islam, and among its pillars are the prayers, so he mentioned to him five prayers, and he said: .
And he sent Mu'adh to Yemen and said: .
And Allah commanded the preservation of them, saying: : He singled it out because of its distinction and virtue, and the middle prayer refers to the 'Asr prayer, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) interpreted as such, being the most knowledgeable of creation about the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the intent of Allah, and no one's statement is valid after the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), .
And He said: .
I wish the author had brought the other verse: : because this verse indicates that whoever does not establish the prayer is a disbeliever.