Sleeping and missing salaat al-fajr

[amma]

Sleeping and missing salaat al-fajr -


by Shaykh Munajjid - may Allah reward him with


goodness.


A brother complained: “I miss


salaat 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 jamaa’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 Allaah. 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 Allaah, may He be glorified.


The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah


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 Allaah 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 Allaah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allaah 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).


“The best of prayers in the sight


of Allaah is the dawn prayer on Friday, in congregation.” (Reported by Abu


Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 7/207, and in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,


1566).


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 Allaah 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


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 hadeeth which indicates


the seriousness of missing salaat al-fajr is: “Whoever prays fajr is under the


protection of Allaah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allaah 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.


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:


Sleeping early. According to a


saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (peace and


blessings of Allaah 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.


Also, the Muslim should not


talk after ‘isha’, and the scholars have explained the reason why doing so


is disliked: it is because doing so leads to people staying up late, which


in turns leads to the fear that they will sleep and miss qiyaam


al-layl, or the correct or preferred time for fajr prayer.


The kind of talk that is


disliked after ‘isha’, as the commentators explain, is that in which there


is no clear benefit, but if there is some benefit – such as studying and


gaining knowledge, learning stories of righteous people, speaking to a


guest, spending time with one’s wife and family, speaking to travellers


and taking care of them and their luggage, or any other permissible reason


– then there is nothing wrong with it. This has no connection with the


reasons for which many people stay up late nowadays, to do wrong and


commit sin! So the Muslim should sleep early, so that he can wake up


refreshed to pray fajr and avoid the kind of late nights that make him too


tired to get up and pray fajr in congregation.


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. If a person knows from experience that


sleeping after 11 p.m., for example, will mean that he cannot get up for


fajr, then from an Islamic point of view he should not sleep any later


than that… and so on.


Making sure that one is clean


(taahir) and reciting adhkaar (prayers) before sleeping.


This helps a person to get up for fajr.


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.


Remembering Allaah as soon as


one wakes up. Some people may initially wake up, then they go back to


sleep again. But if a person remembers Allaah 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.


Seeking help from one’s family


and friends to pray fajr, and encouraging one another in this regard. This


is essential, and is undoubtedly included in the words of Allaah


(interpretation of the meanings):


“… Help you one another in


al-birr and al-taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety)…” [al-Maa’idah


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]


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 Allaah. “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].


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 neighbour’s door to wake him for prayer and helping him to


worship Allaah.


Praying to Allaah to help him


to wake up to pray fajr in congregation. Du’aa’ is one of the greatest


sources of strength and success in all things.


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 Allaah, and waking up to obey the command of


Allaah cannot be measured in terms of worldly wealth.


Throwing water in the face of


the person who is sleeping. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 person’s


face is one of the means of waking a person for prayer that is prescribed


by sharee’ah. 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.


Not sleeping alone. The


Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah


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.


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.


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.


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.


Lighting a lamp when waking up


– or, in our modern times, switching on the light. This has the effect of


dispelling sleepiness.


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 daa’iyahs (Islamic workers), then


they sleep late and miss the prayer, thus losing much more than they


gained.


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.


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 Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah 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 one’s head is propped up on


one’s 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 Allaah be upon him) for the fajr prayer.


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.


Following the example of the


Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah


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 Allaah be upon


him), and this is better than sleeping in any other position which may


make it difficult to wake up.


Helping oneself by taking a


nap during the day, because this will help a person by making him need


less sleep at night.


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.


Finally, sincere devotion to


Allaah is the best thing to motivate a person to get up for prayer,


because Allaah 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


Allaah, then Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah be upon him).


by Shaykh


Munajjid


Yearning for Allah and His meeting is like the gentle breeze


blowing upon the heart, extinguishing the blaze of the Dunya. Whosoever caused


his heart to settle with his Lord shall be in a state, calm and tranquil, and


whosoever sent it amongst the people shall be disturbed and excessively


perturbed.