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Sleeping
and Missing salaat al-Fajr Posted by: "Adil ibn Manzoor Khan"
ahmad_adil@yahoo.com ahmad_adil Sun Jul 19, 2009 1:08 pm In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the
All-Compassionate "May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon
You" Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His
forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from
our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and
whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is
no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala
Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu Problems and SolutionsBook by Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid Sleeping
and Missing salaat al-fajr The solution to this problem, like others, has two
aspects: theoretical and practical. The theoretical aspect may be further broken down
into two points: (1) The Muslim should know the great status of salaat
al-fajr in the sight of Allah, may He be glorified. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever prays the
dawn prayer in congregation, it is as if he had prayed the whole night
long."�
(Muslim, p. 454, no. 656; al-Tirmidhi, 221). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: "The most
burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are salaat al-isha and salaat al-fajr,
but if they only knew what they contain, they would come even if they had to
crawl." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/424; Saheeh al-Jaami, 133). "Whoever
prays fajr is under the protection of Allah. Do not put yourselves in a
situation where Allah has to call you to account for your negligence."
(Reported by al-Tabaraani, 7/267; Saheeh al-Jaami, no. 6344). "Angels come to you in shifts by night and by
day. They meet at salaat al-fajr and salaat al-asr, then those who had stayed
with you at night ascend, and are asked by the One Who knows better than they:
How did you find My servants? They say, We left them when they were praying, and
we came to them when they were praying.´" (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
al-Fath, 2/33). According to a saheeh hadeeth: "Whoever prays
al-Bardayn will enter Paradise." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/52).
Al-Bardayn are fajr and asr. (2) The Muslim should understand the seriousness of
missing salaat al-fajr. This is explained by the hadeeth already quoted: "The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites
are salaat al-isha and salaat al-Fajr..." In al-Saheeh, it is reported that Ibn Umar (may
Allah be pleased with them both) said: "If we did not see a person at fajr
and isha´ prayers, we would think badly of him." (Reported by al-Tabaraani
in al-Mu´jam al-Kabeer, 12/271. Al-Haythami said, the men of al-Tabaraani are
muwaththaqoon (trustworthy) . al-Majma, 2/40).
They thought badly of a person who was absent from
these two prayers because regular performance of them is an indication of a
persons faith and a measure of his sincerity. Other prayers may be easier to do
because they are more convenient to a persons circumstances and fit in with his
work and his sleep, but only those who are determined and sincere, people whom
one hopes are good people, will be able to pray fajr and isha regularly in
congregation. Another hadeeth which indicates the seriousness of
missing salaat al-fajr is: "Whoever prays fajr is under the protection of
Allah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allah has to call you to
account for your negligence, because whoever finds himself in this situation
will be sorted out and then thrown on his face in the Fire of Hell."
(Reported by Muslim, p. 454). These two points are sufficient to guarantee that
the Muslims heart will burn with the concern to ensure that he does not miss
fajr. The first motivates him to strive to earn the reward for fajr, and the
second acts as a warning that will deter him from committing the sin of
negligence. The practical aspect of dealing with this problem
includes a number of steps which the Muslim can take in order to get used to
performing salaat al-fajr regularly in congregation. These steps include: o Sleeping early. According to a saheeh hadeeth, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) used to dislike sleeping before isha and talking afterwards. The
Muslim should not sleep before salaat al-isha because it is obvious that most
of those who sleep before it will spend the rest of the night feeling so tired
and heavy that it will be as if they are ill. o It is a fact that people differ with regard to
their need for sleep, so it is not possible to dictate a set number of hours
that people should sleep, but each person should stick to the time that will
give him enough sleep to wake up refreshed for salaat al-fajr. o Making sure that one is clean (taahir) and
reciting adhkaar (prayers) before sleeping. This helps a person to get up for
fajr. o Having a sincere intention and being determined,
when going to sleep, that one will get up for fajr. But a person who goes to
sleep hoping that the alarm will not go off, and that no one will come and wake
him up, will not - with such a corrupt intention - be able to get up to pray
fajr whilst he still has this bad intention. o Remembering Allah as soon as one wakes up. Some
people may initially wake up, then they go back to sleep again. But if a person
remembers Allah straight after waking up, this will loosen one of the knots of
Shaytaan, and will motivate him to get up. When he performs wudoo, his
determination becomes stronger, and Shaytaan is driven further away, and when
he prays, his shaytaan is defeated, his balance (of good deeds) becomes
heavier, and he will feel happy and energetic. o Seeking help from ones family and friends to pray
fajr, and encouraging one another in this regard. This is essential, and is
undoubtedly included in the words of Allah (interpretation of the meanings): "... Help you one another in al-birr and
al-taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety)..." [al-Maaidah 5:2] "By al-asr (time). Verily! Man is in loss,
except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another
to the truth and recommend one another to patience." [al-`Asr 103:1-3] o The Muslim should encourage his wife, for example
by waking her up to pray fajr, and she should encourage him, no matter how
tired and exhausted he may be. Children should also seek their father´s help to
wake up, so he can wake them when it is time for the prayer. No father should
say "They have exams, they are tired, let them sleep, poor kids." It
is a mistake to think that be doing this one is being a kind and merciful
parent; true parental mercy means that the father wakes them up to worship
Allah. "And enjoin al-salaah (the prayer) on your family, and be patient
in offering them (the prayers)..." [Ta-Ha 20:132 - interpretation of the
meaning]. o Just as family members should help and encourage
one another to pray fajr, so brothers in Islam can also help one another. For
example, university students living in the same residence or neighbours in the
same neighbourhood can help one another by knocking on a neighbours door to
wake him for prayer and helping him to worship Allah. o Praying to Allah to help him to wake up to pray
fajr in congregation. Duaa is one of the greatest sources of strength and
success in all things. o Using various means of being woken up, such as
alarm clocks. These should be put in the most appropriate place. Some people
put the alarm clock next to their head, and when it rings, they turn if off at
once and go straight back to sleep. Such a person should put the clock a little
further away, so that he can feel that it is really waking him up. One can also arrange to receive alarm calls from the
telephone company, and no Muslim should think that it is too much to pay for
this service if he needs it, because this is spending in the way of Allah, and
waking up to obey the command of Allah cannot be measured in terms of worldly
wealth. o Throwing water in the face of the person who is
sleeping.The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) praised the man who gets up at night to pray,
and wakes his wife, and when she refuses to get up, he throws water in her
face; and he praised the woman who gets up at night to pray, and wakes her
husband, and when he refuses to get up, she throws water in his face. (Reported
by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 2/250; Saheeh al-Jaami, 3494). Throwing water in a persons face is one of the means
of waking a person for prayer that is prescribed by shareeah. In fact it is
quite refreshing and energizing. Some people may become enraged when woken in
this manner, and they may shout and swear and issue threats, so the person who
is seeking to wake another should employ wisdom and patience, and remember that
the pens are lifted from the record of one who is sleeping (i.e., his deeds are
not being recorded while he is asleep) - so he should put up with any bad
treatment, and not let this put him off trying to wake people up for prayer. o Not sleeping alone. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
forbade any man to sleep alone. (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 2/91;
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 60). Perhaps the wisdom behind this prohibition is
that a person could sleep too long if there is no-one to wake him up for
prayer. o Not sleeping in remote places where it would not
occur to anyone that someone could be sleeping there, such as a person sleeping
on the roof of a house without telling his family where he is, or sleeping in a
remote part of the house or student residence, so that no-one will know to wake
him for prayer, but everyone will think that he is in the mosque when in fact
he is fast asleep. Anyone who needs to sleep in a remote place should tell the
people around him where he will be so that they can come and wake him. o Being lively and active upon waking. One should
get up straightaway, and not wake up in stages, as some people do. A person
could be woken up several times, and each time he gets up, but when his friend
leaves, he goes back to bed. Waking up in stages usually ends in failure, and the
only way to prevent falling asleep again is to get up straight away. o Not setting the alarm too early. If a person knows
that there is still a long time to go until the time of the prayer, he may
think, "I still have time, let me sleep a little more..." Everyone
should know how to handle himself and avoid this situation. o Lighting a lamp when waking up - or, in our modern
times, switching on the light. This has the effect of dispelling sleepiness. o Not staying up late, even to pray qiyaam al-layl.
Some people may stay up late to pray qiyaam al-layl, then fall asleep a few
minutes before fajr and be unable to wake up for the prayer. This happens a lot
in Ramadaan - people stay up late and sleep a little while before fajr, so they
miss the prayer. No doubt this is a grave error, because fard (obligatory)
prayer should take precedence over naafil (supererogatory) prayer. So what
about those who stay up late not to pray but to commit sin, or at best to do
permissible things? The Shaytaan may make the idea of staying up late to
discuss important matters attractive to some daaiyahs (Islamic workers), then
they sleep late and miss the prayer, thus losing much more than they gained. o Not eating too much before going to sleep. Eating
too much makes one sleep deeply. The one who eats a lot gets very tired, and
sleeps a lot, thus losing a lot. So one should try to eat lightly in the
evening. o Warning about the misinterpretation of the sunnah
to lie down after praying the sunnah of fajr. Some people may have heard the
hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When any one of you has prayed, let
him lie down on his right side." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 420; Saheeh
al-Jaami´, 642). It was also reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
had prayed the sunnah of fajr, he would lie down, then Bilaal would call him to
prayer, and he would stand up to pray. People may have heard these ahaadeeth, and be keen
to follow this proven sunnah, but they do not understand how to do it properly.
So a person may pray the sunnah of fajr, then lie down on his right side, and
fall fast asleep until the sun rises. This is because of a lack of proper
understanding. The lying down is not for the purpose of sleeping, and Bilaal
used to come and tell the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) when it was time to pray. Moreover, as was
reported by Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan in a saheeh hadeeth, if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wanted
to rest before fajr, he would put his head on his right palm, propped up on his
elbow. (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/298; Saheeh al-Jaami, no. 4752). This
kind of resting prevents one from falling fast asleep, because in this case
ones head is propped up on ones palm and elbow, and will drop if one dozes off,
thus waking one up again. In addition to this, Bilaal was entrusted with the responsibility
of waking the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) for the fajr prayer. o Praying qiyaam al-layl late in the night, just
before fajr, so that when one finishes witr, the call for fajr prayer is given,
making the worship continuous. The night prayer should be offered during the
last third of the night - which is the preferred time - and immediately
followed by the fajr prayer, whilst one is feeling awake and energetic. o Following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in
lying down to sleep. So a person should lie on his right side, placing his
right cheek on his right hand. This position makes it easy to wake up. The best
guidance is the guidance of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and this is better than
sleeping in any other position which may make it difficult to wake up. o Helping oneself by taking a nap during the day,
because this will help a person by making him need less sleep at night. o Not sleeping after asr or maghrib, because this
will make a person sleep late, and whoever sleeps late will find it difficult
to wake up. o Finally, sincere devotion to Allah is the best
thing to motivate a person to get up for prayer, because Allah is the One Who
is controlling all means of help. If a person has that true sincerity and his
heart is burning with devotion to Allah, then Allah will help him to get up to
pray fajr in congregation, even if he goes to sleep only a few moments before
fajr. This sincerity and devotion may cause some very
enthusiastic people to find unusual ways to help themselves to wake up to pray,
which is a sign of their eagerness and keenness. One of them may set a number
of alarm clocks to wake him up, setting each one a few minutes later than the
other, so that if he turns the first one off, the next one will wake him a few
moments later, and so on. Another may tie a string to his wrist, with the other
end dangling from his window, so that when one of his friends passes by on his
way to the mosque, he can pull on the string and wake him for fajr prayer. See what can be achieved with sincerity and
determination, may Allah guide you! But the bitter truth is that weakness of
faith and lack of sincerity are widespread among people nowadays, as we can see
from the small numbers of people to be found praying in the mosques at fajr,
despite the fact that there are so many people living around the mosques in
many neighbourhoods. But no doubt
there are people who sleep so heavily that it is almost like an illness, and
they may be excused, because the matter is beyond their control. People in this
situation should turn to Allah for help, and do everything that they possibly
can, and visit the doctor, to try to find a cure. Finally, a
word about a well known phenomenon: some people claim that there is a hadeeth
which says that the person who wants to get up for fajr should recite the last
part of Soorat al-Kahf before sleeping, and have the intention in his heart to
get up at a certain hour, and this will make him get up at that time. They
claim that this is a tried and tested method. Our response is that there is no
such saheeh hadeeth, and this carries no weight whatsoever. The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Watch : ebliss salat al fajr (and you will think twice missing Fajr again) http://www.dailymot ion.com/video/ x4j857_ebliss-
salat-al- fajr_shortfilms? hmz=707265766e65 7874 As-Salaam Walekum Adil Ibn Manzoor Khan Bombay |
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