Is it permissible to shorten the prayer when some of its times are missed due to university lectures, and how is the shortening done in obligatory prayers, and are the missed prayers performed before the next obligatory prayer or after its counterpart on the following day?

Prayer holds a great status in Islam; it is the second pillar after the two declarations of faith. Whoever preserves it triumphs, and whoever neglects it fails. Severe warnings have been established for those who neglect it. Allah, the Exalted, says: (So woe to those who pray [But] who are heedless of their prayer) [Al-Ma'un: 4-5]. And Allah, the Exalted, says: (Then, there succeeded them a generation who neglected prayers and pursued desires; so they are going to meet Ghayy) [Maryam: 59].

The obligatory prayers must be performed at their prescribed times. If possible, they should be performed in congregation in the mosque or lecture hall, as this is the obligation. Otherwise, they should be performed individually in a clean place. Attending lectures is not a legitimate excuse for delaying prayer beyond its time or shortening it; shortening is restricted to lawful travel. Studying is not a legitimate excuse for permanently combining prayers. If studying leads to neglecting prayer by performing it outside its time, then there is no good in work that distracts from prayer, and one must leave studying at that university. The details regarding the scholars' views on making up missed prayers and their order with current prayers have been previously explained.