Balancing the 8-Hour Workday and Daily Prayer: What Are the Legal Repercussions for On-the-Job Worship?

Question: We know that the international standard working hours in the professional sector are 8 hours a day. In addition to personal chores, there are five daily obligatory prayers. Praying takes about 75 minutes in total, calculating roughly 15 minutes per prayer. Is there any accountability or legal repercussion for an employee spending time in this manner, and is spending time on worship during work hours permissible? I would be glad to know.

Answer: To what extent labor laws are actually followed in the workplace is also a question. Are the 8-hour work regulations followed in all government and private sectors alike? An individual can choose to work or have others work beyond that limit if they wish. Here, the duty is that of a full-time worker according to the terms. The employer is equally responsible for providing full compensation. If either party cheats, both will be held accountable.

Now let’s come to the matter of making time for personal necessities—such as relieving oneself, etc. Just as no law can obstruct these natural needs, no law can obstruct the obligatory religious injunctions of Muslims either. The importance of obligatory worship is actually even greater. Despite any conditions set by an employer, a Muslim employee can perform their obligatory prayers on time. However, wasting time before or after prayers, delaying unnecessarily, or performing voluntary prayers (nafl), remembrance (dhikr), recitation, etc., by wasting working hours is not permissible. Wasting time this way amounts to cheating the employer. If the employer is displeased with this, the earnings will not be lawful (halal). Keep in mind that only ablution (wudu) and the obligatory/wajib/confirmed sunnah parts should be completed within a brief time. If the employer does not agree even to this, then one should leave that job at a convenient time and seek livelihood elsewhere.

Notably, you mentioned 15 minutes per prayer, totaling 75 minutes wasted. Which office in the world exists where employees stay for 24 hours to cover all five prayers? As per your own mention, there are 8 hours. Here, there are only the Dhuhr and Asr prayers. Even in a different shift, one or two prayers might fall during office hours. Therefore, at most half an hour would go toward prayers—no more than that. Prayers can easily be completed within the break provided for tiffin. If the times don’t match, prayer time might extend by up to 15 minutes. In a Muslim country, coordinating this is hardly an issue at all. Even in non-Muslim countries, people manage to pray and fast while working.