Sleeping and Missing Salat al-Fajr (1/3)

Praise be to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whomever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

"O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah." [Al-Qur'an Surah Al- 'Imraan, 3:102 – interpretation of the meaning]

"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you." [Al-Qur'an Surah al-Nisaa', 4:1 – interpretation of the meaning]

"O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds, and will forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement." [Al-Qur'an Surah al-Ahzaab, 33:70 – interpretation of the meaning]

Some brothers have asked me questions in various talks and lectures, including questions about a number of problems, "diseases of the heart" (spiritual problems) and very real obstacles that they are facing. I answered these questions and enquiries in a series of studies entitled Shakawa wa Hulul (Problems and Solutions).

This series has been reviewed for publication, and I now present it to my brothers in the hope that this action may be included in those referred to in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever relieves a believer of some of the distress of this world, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Judgement … Allah will help His slave so long as the slave is helping his brother." [Reported by Sahih Muslim] I ask Allah to give my brothers and me the strength to do good deeds and to avoid evil, and to save us on the Day of Regrets, for He is the Best of those who are asked, and He is Able to do all things.

A brother complained: "I miss Salat al-Fajr on most days, and I hardly ever pray it at the right time. Usually I do not wake up until after the sun has risen, or at best I wake up after the time for praying Fajr in jama'ah. I have tried to wake up at the right time, with no success. What is the solution to this problem?"

All praise be to Allah. 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 Salat 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." [Reported by Muslim, p. 454, no. 656; At-Tirmidhi, 221]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said:

"The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are Salat al-'Isha' and Salat al-Fajr, but if they only knew what they contain, they would come even if they had to crawl." [Reported by Imam Ahmad, Al-Musnad, 2/424; Sahih al-Jami', 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 At-Tabarani, 7/267; Sahih al-Jami', no. 6344]

"Angels come to you in shifts by night and by day. They meet at Salat al-Fajr and Salat 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-Bukhari, Al-Fath, 2/33]

"The best of prayers in the sight of Allah is the dawn prayer on Friday, in congregation." [Reported by Abu Na'im in Al-Hilyah, 7/207, and in Al-Silsilah as-Sahihah, 1566]

According to a sahih hadith: "Whoever prays Al-Bardayn will enter Paradise." [Reported by Al-Bukhari, Al-Fath, 2/52. Al-Bardayn are Fajr and 'Asr]

(2) The Muslim should understand the seriousness of missing Salat al-Fajr. This is explained by the hadith already quoted:

"The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are Salat al-'Isha' and Salat al-Fajr …"

In As-Sahih, 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 At-Tabarani in Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, 12/271. Al-Haythami said, the men of At-Tabarani are muwaththaqun (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 person's faith and a measure of his sincerity. Other prayers may be easier to do because they are more convenient to a person's 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 hadith which indicates the seriousness of missing Salat 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 Muslim's 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.

(Continued)