Even in his youth, Imam would say his prayers on time. One of his friends narrates: At first, God forbid, we used to think that perhaps it was out of self pretentiousness that Imam would pray on time. For this reason we decided to test Imam.
For example, when on a journey, we would lay out food right at prayer time. However Imam would say, "You eat. I am saying my prayers and will eat whatever is leftover." Or, when setting out on a journey, we would decide to set out right at prayer time. However, Imam would say, "You go. I will catch up with you."
Many of these occasions transpired. Not only would Imam always say his prayers on time, but he instilled this practice in us to such an extent that we now always say our prayers on time.
(A memoir by Ayatollah Ibaadi – Imam's student)