Is it permissible to take early retirement from work or manage a discontinuous project, such as real estate, in order to devote oneself to the worship of Allah, such as reading the Qur'an, seeking knowledge, performing supererogatory acts of worship, fasting, and doing good deeds?

The concept of worship in Islam is broad, encompassing the pursuit of livelihood if one intends thereby to seek Allah's help in obedience, to maintain self-sufficiency, and to provide for one's family. For this reason, some of the Salaf preferred the truthful merchant over one who devoted himself entirely to worship. Nevertheless, for someone who has sufficient sustenance and is not exposed to need, dedicating oneself to worship may be preferable, especially in old age. There is no impediment to early retirement and devoting oneself to worship or working on a project that does not take much time, thereby allowing for reading the Qur'an and seeking knowledge.