Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is it true that it is a sin upon a person who is being called to eat (dinner for example) but the person goes on to pray first and then join the rest to eat? I was told it was a sin on me when I went to pray Maghrib salah and then came to eat after it.
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
It is best to eat first when the food is ready and others waiting. In such cases, it is not disliked to delay even Maghrib prayer slightly. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah] However, one should be careful that:
1. One should not make it a habit to delay prayer for such worldly excuses.
2. One should not delay unduly. For Asr prayer, it remains sinfully disliked (makruh tahriman) to delay prayer till the end of the time even when there is an excuse.
3. One should still pray in congregation, even if at home.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam
Faraz Rabbani