salat/namaz

Getting up for Fajar is the most hardest thing to do!!!! I have to agree with you there!

But have you looked at how amazing Islam is.....We have been given 5 daily salah's to perform. They all consist of quite long Rakah's but amazingly the fajar salah is the one with the least Rakahs...Therefore it's so shocking that a majority of muslims find it hard to wake from their sleep and carry out this small morning salah!!!

I guess our biggest Jihad in this moment in time is actually trying to read all five salah's!!!

Inshallah I pray that we all here carry on striving to fulfil our five daily prayers. Inshallah sister I pray that you become a regular prayer. The thing that best helps me is to get someone to wake me up... Before I sleep I always tell someone in my family to wake me up...and if I still don't they have full permission to pour cold water over my face 😂 😃

Salaam

Hope the following answer below helps. It is from The Revival Magazine, Issue 2, Q & A By Shaykh Salim Ghisa:

[quote]

[b]HOW CAN READING SALAAH/NAMAAZ, HELP US IN THIS WORLD?[/b]

After submission to the faith of Islam, Salaah is the most important form of worship for the believers. The purpose behind the Salaah is to remember the creator within regular intervals during the day. This will lead to a believer putting his/her full trust in Allah for all their day to day necessities. There are many Hadith advising the believers of the true benefits of Salaah and the beauty it holds for both this world and the hereafter.

During our day we commit many sins without even realising their consequences. However, we cannot always remember to perform repentance to Allah and hence justifiably we should await our punishment. However, how great is the mercy of Allah who forgives these sins just by us performing our daily prayers, as narrated in the following Hadith;

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) say”, “What would you think if there were a river running by the door of any of you, and he bathed in it five times every day, would any trace of dirt be left on him?” The people said “There would be no trace of dirt on him”. He said “this is like the five daily prayers through which Allah erases (minor) sins. ” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “The five daily prayers are like a deep river flowing by the door of any of you, in which he bathes five times a day.” (Muslim)

Ibn Mas’ud said: “A man kissed a woman, and then he came to the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) and told him what he had done. Then Allah revealed the verse “And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things that are good remove those that are evil….(11:114). The man said “does it apply to me?” The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied “it applies to all of my Ummah. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Uthman Ibn Affan said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying “There is no Muslim who, when the time for prayer comes, performs ablution properly, concentrates on his prayer and bows correctly, but the prayer will be an expiation for the sins committed prior to it, so as long as no major sin has been committed. This is the case until the end of time.” (Muslim)

[b]Benefit in this world[/b]

From the above few Hadith we can understand the benefit of Salaah for us and our after life. However one may ask how it can benefit me in this world? The fact of the matter is that when a Muslim devotes himself to prayer he gains such closeness to his creator that all that he does is always accepted and becomes spiritual. Therefore when he asks for something Allah grants it, when he needs something Allah gives it even before he requests it. Allah has said that he becomes the power in the hand that he uses or the step he takes, meaning he only does with the absolute will of Allah. This is when a person becomes the friend of Allah and Allah loves him so much that He will wage war against his servant’s enemies. Who needs any defence when Allah will protect them?

Abu Hurairah narrated from the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) that Allah said “Whoever is hostile to my friends I declare war against him. A man does not come close to me with anything more dearly than what I have made obligatory upon them (Salaah, saum etc). Man continues to come nearer to me through voluntary deeds until I love him, and when I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, I become his sight with which he sees. I become his hands with which he strikes and I become his legs with which he strides. If he asks me I shall surely grant his request. If he seeks my refuge I shall protect him. I do not hesitate in what I intend to do, as I hesitate to take the soul of My faithful servant; he hates death whilst I hate for any harm to come to him (through pain of death). [Bukhari]

From the above hadith we can see how powerful man can become when he becomes close to Allah. This can only be done by performing regular Salaah.

[b]Here's a few more benefits of prayer in this world:[/b]

1. It helps you from doing evil deeds and makes you a better person.

2. It gives you peace, tranquillity and meditation.

3. Prayer gives you stress-relief because you shut everything else out.

4. Prayer in congregation (jamaat) builds your bond with other Muslims.

5. It gives you a timetable for the day. It gives you discipline.

[b]

Salaah in times of difficulty[/b]

When we face difficulties we try and find remedy in various different aspects, such as finance, medicine, friendship etc. However, whenever our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) would face difficulty he would always turn to prayer.

Huzaifa narrates that whenever the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) faced any difficulty, he would at once resort to Salaah. (Ahmad, Abu Dawood)

Salaah is a great blessing of Allah. To resort to Salaah at the time of worry is to hasten to His mercy, and when Allah’s mercy comes to the rescue there can be no trace of any worry. When Ibn Abbas heard the news of the death of his son, he came off his camel and performed two cycles of prayer and said this is what Allah has commanded us to do in the following verse “Seek Allah’s help with patience and Salaah”(2:45)

There are many other reports of when Allah’s Messenger and his companions used to resort to Salaah. We unfortunately find that our youth resort to Haram such as alcohol and drugs to drown their worries, and then we wonder why we as an Ummah are in such a state.

Other benefits of Salaah

[b]There are numerous benefits for Salaah both physically and mentally, here are some that our scholars have highlighted:[/b]

* The love of Allah will start to increase.

* The body will stay free from illness.

* You will stay in the protection of the angels.

* You will gain blessing in the home.

* Your face and body will become illuminated.

* Allah will protect you from the punishment of the grave.

* Allah will protect you from the fire of Hell.

* There will be ease in the questioning on the day of judgement.

* The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) will intercede for you.

* You will be with the friends of Allah without fear.

* The greatest benefit for the believer will be the vision of Allah.

* May Allah guide us all and keep us steadfast in prayer and worship.

* Of course Allah knows best

[/quote]

Early nights Sis!

No matter what, make yourself get up. I'm up for work around then anyway so it's alright, but the summer months are quite difficult, but once you get into it, you won't be able to miss it Sis. After a while it'll become natural. Just missing it a couple of days will set you back, so keep at it. Sis if I can do it, you definitely can! I know it sounds silly, but on the few occasions I have missed fajr by switching my alarm off and falling asleep again, I've spent the whole day feeling guilty and just waiting for something bad to happen. Reading your salah with someone else might make it easier - I can't think of anything more beautiful than a husband and wife reading their salah together (if the bro isn't reading in jamaat at the mosque).

someone sent me a really good article recently, with tips re: getting up for fajr. may seem long but its well worth the read...

[quote]Our Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) is our exemplar who

provided the best example in spending long hours of the night in

prayer and waking in time for Fajr Prayer. This record was

authentically known of him both in his teachings and his living

example as he did not like sleeping before Ishaa [night] Prayer

and discouraged his followers from useless talk after it.

In this he was followed by his companions and all the muslims up to

a time not very far from our own days. They knew the reasons

which cause laziness and lessen motivation to observe prayers in

time (be such prayers Fard [obligatory] or Nafla [optional]) and

warned people against them so much that some of them are

reported to have said: "If you are unable to pray at night, then

that is a clear sign that your sins have shackled you and

deprived you of good deeds". Al-Hasan al-Basri was once asked:

"Why is it that we cannot uphold prayers at night?" He answered:

"You are shackled in your own sins".

Motivation is presently lacking among muslims. Otherwise they

would not have given in to sleep even if they had to stay awake

in the first part of the night. When one of them is required by

his work arrangements or for his own worldly benefit to wake

early at dawn, he would no doubt take the necessary precaution

not to miss his appointment. He will forsake his peace of mind

and have a restless sleep just for fear he might be punished or

have his salary reduced. When it comes to prayer, they have no

excuse especially when in our modern times Allah has provided us

with alarm clocks which would be set at any time we wish. The

problem therefore, is one of laziness. Such people do not know

what they are missing. The Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam)

said with respect to those who do not observe Ishaa and Fajr

prayers: "Had one of them known that he would find a wholesome

meal or two good targets, he would have come for Ishaa prayer."

All in all, for him who sincerely wants to purify his soul from

the attributes of the hypocrites, let him steer clear of

laziness, be active, put into practice the action inspiring

instructions laid out in our religion, accustom himself to take

the initiative and realise what he and everybody in his position

are missing in terms of the health of the body and great reward

from Allah. Only then will his performance improve, Allah

willing, and he will make up for what he has missed and follow

the lead of the best of generations.

Allah, the Most High and Exalted, is the Provider of success and

assistance. Peace and Blessings be upon Prophet Muhammed, his

household and followers.

Signed,

Abdullah Ibn Abdur-Rahmaan al-Jibreen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Text

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Most surely all praise belongs to Allah, we praise Him and we

seek His Aid and Forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the

evils of our souls and from the evils of our actions. Whomsoever

Allaah guides there is none to misguides and whomsever He

misguides their is none to guide. I send prayers and blessing

upon our leader Muhammed with the best of prayers and the most

complete submission.

To proceed:

One of the ill-seeming phenomena and most serious precedents

boding impending danger and punishment, giving reason to fear

and calling for most urgent consideration on our part requiring

immediate investigation into its causes and treatment of its

symptoms is the fact that a growing number of observers of

prayer deliberately shun Fajr prayer in congregation and only

perform it at times other than its lawful time.

It may be the case that this is due to their wasting away long

hours at night engaged in idle and leisure pursuits. Our

ancestors not very long ago used to make a point of going to bed

early, to lock their doors after Ishaa prayer and to make their

dinner light so as to be able to wake up for Fajr prayer in an

energetic state. That is why they led a happy, peaceful and

healthy life experiencing the real taste of life.

The advent of modern civilisation spoiled both our religious

observances and our worldly arrangements. As a result, we have

fallen into laziness and inertia; our bodies grew fat and

flabby; we move about less frequently whilst showing a greater

readiness to sleep and a marked inability to perform the most

trivial of manual actions.

The present paper attempts therefore to suggest ways which may

be of help in inducing us to wake up for Fajr Prayer; for

instance:

ONE:

To make sure to go to bed early as the Prophet

(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam)used to discourage sleep before

performing Ishaa prayer and especially engaging in conversation

after it. Certain cases were excepted, some of which are

enumerated by Imam Nawawi in his explanation of Muslim's

account. Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him says:

The reason why converation after it is discouraged is the fear

lest it leads to staying awake for long , which might induce

drowsiness and difficulty with observing night prayers or Subh

[dawn] prayer in their permitted, preferred or best times. The

topics covered by this restriction are all fulfilling no good

useful purpose. However, as to useful verbal activities, such as

the pursuit of knowledge, listening to the wise tales of

righteous people, talking to one's guest or bride, or members of

one's family for the sake of company, interacting with

travellers with a view to protect themselves and their goods,

embarking on talks designed to conciliate between people or

intercede before them in a good cause or to enjoin good and

forbid evil and admonish people by pointing to a beneficial

course of action to follow etc... there are no such

restrictions.

TWO:

To be assiduous in observing the Aadaab [good manners

prescribed in Islam] as to what to do before sleep such as

making Du'aa [supplication], bringing one's palms together, very

mildly spitting into them and reciting the last three soorah's

of the Qur'aan into them and them wiping them over one's face,

head and body, being physically and religiously pure and

performing a two rakah voluntary prayer after wudhoo [ablution].

A muslim has to ask his wife, parents, relatives or neighbours

to help waking him up. Once waken up, he should not linger

lazily for long in bed, lest he acquires the vices of the

hypocrites who come to prayer showing ample signs of laziness

and lack of enthusiasm.

THREE:

To fill one's heart with faith and good deeds. Once faith

is alive in the heart, it induces the person to do good deeds

and strive unremittingly hard. Faith is like a tree which only

yields good fruit when irrigated from the streamlets of good

deeds, thus bringing about an improvement both in personal

conduct and at the interactional level with society at large.

The lack of such streamlets or water supplies proportionately

causes faith to wither and wilt. The heart is highly sensitive

to external hardening stimuli, such as excess food or drink or

aberrations in watching or listening (letting your eyes and ears

loose to what is unlawful for them). You should therefore

protect your heart from such external allurements.

FOUR:

To keep away from Ma'aasi [acts of disobedience to Allah]

by protecting the eyes, the tongue, the hearing and all the

senses from indulging in the perception of objects that Allah

has made unlawful for us. As an alternative, one should concern

himself with matters pertaining to the worship of Allaah, such

as devoting one's sight to the reading of Allaah's Book,

meditating over the creatures that Allaah has created in this

universe, reading books of knowledge etc. One member of the

rightly guided early generations was asked about the reason why

people found it difficult to uphold voluntary prayers at night.

He answered: "Your sins have shackled you". No doubt sins can be

a major cause for a persons inability to enjoy the blessings of

piety. As Imaam Ibn ul-Qayyim said, sins are wounds and some

wounds can be fatal.

FIVE:

To bear in mind the great reward for attending Fajr prayer

in congregation on time, and the strong rebuke for him to fails

to observe it and to satisfy its conditions. Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan

related:

I heard Allah's Messenger (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) say: "He

who prays Ishaa in Jamaa'ah [congregation] is as if he has

prayed for half the night . As to him who (also) prays Fajr in

congregation, it is as if he has prayed all night." [narrated by

Maalik and the wording is that of Muslim who also reported it]

Similarly, Bukhaaaree and Muslim and An-Nasaaee related on the

authority of Ibn Mas'ud (radiallaahu-anhu) that he said:

The case of a man who slept all the night up to sunrise (without

waking up for Fajr) was related to the Prophet

(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) whereupon he said: "That was a man

in whose ear Shaytaan has urinated", or he said "in both his

ears".

The urinating is literally true, as Imaam Qurtubi says, since

Shaytaan urinates and has sexual intercourse and procreates in a

manner that Allah alone knows (1). To ascertain for yourself the

truth of this assertion, look at the faces of those who come to

deal in their daily business without having prayed Fajr in

congregation at due time; look at their faces at working hours.

You will surely ask Allaah for refuge from a lot as miserable as

theirs. But, after all what do you expect from a person in whose

heart Shaytaan has urinated!!!

SIX:

To realise the bad effects resulting from one's failure to

pray Fajr, such as the melancholic and depressive state of mind

and the loss of many religious and worldly benefits, and the

good effects resulting from managing to perform it. In this

respect the Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said:

"Shaytaan ties three knots on the crown of any one of you in

your sleep. He says upon each knot that he ties: "You have a

long night before you, therefore sleep". But if you wake up and

mention Allah, Most Exalted in remembrance one knot will be

untied. If you then make ablution another knot will be undone.

If you then proceed to pray the last knot will be disentangled.

Thus, you will feel in the morning energetic and in good

spirits. Otherwise you will feel in a despicable state, lazy".

[narrated by Maalik, Bukhaaree, Muslim and Abu Dawood]

The time following Fajr prayer is full of goodness and

blessings. At-Tirmidhee narrated upon the authority of Al

Ghamdi that the Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said: "O

Allah bless my Ummah in its early rising!" and whenever he

dispatched an expedition or army he sent them early at the

beginning of the day. Sakhr was a merchant who always sent his

merchandise early in morning thus, becoming wealthy (3). That is

why we find the craftsmen and traders are particular about

making good use of this time. Those who sleep up to the late

morning have denied themselves the blessings of this early

hour.

There are many benefits to the health derived from waking up for

Fajr prayer. For instance, the highest proportion of ozone gas

(O3) in the atmosphere is registered at dawn. It then gradually

fades away until comlplete disappearance by sunrise. This gas

has a very beneficial effect on the nervous system as it

vivifies the brain and energises the muscles such that when a

person inhales the beautiful breeze of the dawn, known as the

SABAA wind, he will experience a pleasure that is unparalleled

at any other time of the day or night (4).

SEVEN:

To lose no time to categorically clear yourself from the

stigma of hypocrisy. Because of the difficulty of waking for

this time, praying Fajr in congregation provides evidence that a

person has firm faith and is free from hypocrisy. That is why in

a hadeeth narrated by Bukhaaree and Muslim, the Prophet

(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said:

"Indeed, the most difficult of prayers to bear, for the

hypocrites, are Ishaa [night] and Fajr prayers. If only they

knew what they are missing , they would sooner come, even if

crawling on their knees".

The most worthy companion, Abdullaah and Ibn Mas'ood

(radiallaahu-anhu) asserts "The only one indeed who misses them

[i.e. Ishaa and Fajr prayers] is a confirmed hypocrite" (5). Ibn

Umar (radiallaahu-anhu) said "When we find a man missing from

the Ishaa and Fajr prayers we nurture suspicions about him"

(6).

If you want a criterion for evaluating a person's degree of

faith and truthfulness monitor his observance of Fajr prayer. If

he passes the test, that should be taken as a sign indicating

the strength of his Eeman [belief, faith]. Let us then testify

to his truthfulness since he managed to achieve the greatest

victory over himself and to be superior to the pleasure of

sleeping in bed. If he fails the test, this is an index to his

weakness in faith, a hardness in his heart, an indulgence in

self-gratification and a defeat against his own whims.

How is it then that he who indulges in sleep and misses prayer

should conceivably feel comfortable while people are delighting

in the mosques in the company of the Qur'aan, listening

raptuously to Allaah's message, and basking happily in His

gardens. He who prefers the pleasures of the bed to the pleasure

of the communion with Allaah is the real loser.

These are a few suggestions to help you wake up for Fajr prayer.

May Allah make them useful. Glory be to Allah, Most Exalted over

any false attributions and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all

Beings.

Written by an anonymous student of Islamic knowlege with an

introduction by Sheik Abdullah Ibn Jibreen[/quote]