Sleeping and missing salaat al-fajr
A brother complained: "I miss salaat al-Ffjr 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).