Prayer is the main pillar of religion, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, made it clear in the Hadith, “Prayer is the cornerstone of religion…” In Islam, Prayer stands as the second pillar of Islam after testifying that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His final Messenger. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayer, paying the Zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
Prayer has certain times in which a Muslim should offer it. Allah says, “Worship at fixed hours hath been enjoined on the believers.” (An-Nisa’: 103) Also, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warned against ignoring offering Prayers in their due times.
As for the dogs’ impurities, they are subject to controversy amongst Muslim scholars as follows:
“As for the impurity of the dog, the great scholar Ibn Taymiyyah mentions three views of jurists regarding the impurity of the dog:
The first the view is that of the Malikite scholars, who hold that dog is pure even its saliva.
The second view is attributed to the Shafi`i School and one of two narrations from Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. They are of the opinion that dog is impure even its fur.
The third view is ascribed to the Hanafi School and the other narrations from Imam Ahmad. They maintain that dog’s saliva is impure while its fur is pure.
According to Ibn Taymiyyah, the third view is believed to be the most correct.”
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “A place where dog walks or roams around is not necessarily regarded as unclean and, therefore, unfit for Prayer. We are definitely allowed to pray in the open spaces such as parks, etc; it is a known fact that dogs do roam in such areas, and in spite of this, it is considered clean and fit for Prayer.
We have reports in the sources of Shari`ah that suggest that dogs used to roam around in the Prophet’s mosque during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, since it had not been enclosed from all sides, and yet the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions prayed in it without any inhibition whatsoever; there is no mention anywhere that they used to wash the spot after such incidents.