Fajr Prayers: 5 Practical Tips for Punctual Wake Up for Fajr Prayer | A Moment Please!

Outline

• Introduction
• The Significance of Fajr and The Effort It Requires to Succeed in Observing It
• The 4 +1 Bonus of Practical Tips for Waking Up for Fajr
• Conclusion

Introduction

Alhamdulillah.. infinite thanks and praise are due to the Almighty Allah, who prescribed upon us five prayers a day, one of which is Fajr prayer. Complete peace and salutations are upon the best to perform Fajr prayer, Sayyiduna Muhammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path.

This article elaborates and supplements episode 14 of the “A Moment Please!” series. It is an answer to a request that was posted by one of the good subscribers to Al-Bushra by GSalam. Here, I’m sharing 4+1 bonus of practical tips for waking up for Fajr prayer, for someone who is unable to sleep early.

Please spare 15 minutes to watch the video below (if you haven’t done so yet) before to diving in the article.

And yes… if you haven’t taken your coffee yet, why not we pause for A Moment Please! and make a cup and come back right here.. Let’s go!

top

The Significance of Fajr and The Effort It Requires to Succeed in Observing It

Welcome back.

Before we dive in to sharing the 4+1bonus of practical tips for waking up for Fajr prayers… Let’s, first agree on two things.

Number One: Fajr Prayer is For the Strong and Determined

One may be strong in weight lifting, and even goes to the gym on a daily basis. But can lift himself off the bed for Fajr prayer. Why? Simply because Fajr prayer is for real strong people who are determined.

In other words, every time, every dawn or every morning you wake up for fajr prayer requires a new set of strive, struggle, effort of self-push to make it successfully to lift yourself off the bed and go get ready for Fajr.

This is understood from the ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim from the narration of Sayyidinā Abu Hurayrah raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu, that Rasūlullāh ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam says:

يَعْقِدُ الشَّيْطَانُ عَلَى قَافِيَةِ رَأْسِ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا هُوَ نَامَ؛ ثَلاثَ عُقَدٍ. يَضْرِبُ عَلَى كُلِّ عُقْدَةٍ: عَلَيْكَ لَيْلٌ طَوِيلٌ فَارْقُدْ. فَإِنِ اسْتَيْقَظَ فَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى انْحَلَّتْ عُقْدَةٌ. فَإِنْ تَوَضَّأَ انْحَلَّتْ عُقْدَةٌ. فَإِنْ صَلَّى انْحَلَّتْ عُقْدَةٌ، فَأَصْبَحَ نَشِيطاً طَيِّبَ النَّفْسِ، وَإِلاَّ أَصْبَحَ خَبِيثَ النَّفْسِ كَسْلاَن.

“When any one of you sleeps, Satan ties three knots at the back of his neck. He recites this incantation at every knot: ‘You have a long night, so sleep.’ If he awakes and remembers Allah, one knot is loosened. If he performs Wuḍu’, the (second) knot is loosened; and if he performs Ṣalāh, (all) knots are loosened. He begins his morning in a happy and refreshed mood; otherwise, he gets up in bad spirits and sluggish state.”

Upon reflecting on this ḥadīth, we learn that Rasūlullāh ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam did three basic things when he woke up for Qiyam or for Fajr. These are:

• He would remembe Allah;
• He would take ablution (wuḍū’) or bath where applicable; and
• He would pray his Qiyāmullay (our night prayers).

Number Two: Fajr Prayer is Significant with Abundant Rewards

One must regularly remind himself of the significance of Fajr prayer. One should also know that fajr prayer marks the beginning of a happy and fruitful day, insha Allah. What is Happiness? [Check this out](https://www.gsalam.net/happiness/).

Imam Muslim reports from the narration of Jundub ibn Sufyān raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu , that the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam says:

مَنْ صَلَّى الصُّبْحَ فَهُوَ فِي ذِمَّةِ اللّهِ. فَانْظُرْ يَابْنَ آدَمَ، لا يَطْلُبَنَّكَ اللَّهُ مِنْ ذِمَّتِهِ بِشَيْءٍ‏

“He who offers Ṣubḥ (Fajr) prayers will be under Allah’s protection. O son of Adam! Beware, lest Allah should call you to account in any respect from (for withdrawing) His Protection.”

Also, Imām Muslim reports from the narration of Sayyidah ‘Ā’ishah raḍiya Allāhu ’anhā that the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam says:

رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا

“The two raka’ahs at dawn are better than this world and what it contains.”

These are the two raka’ahs we perform before the actual prayer of Fajr itself. If this is The Significance and Rewards of the Sunnah of Fajr Prayer then what will be the significance and rewards for the actual Fajr prayer itself?

And if anything is so important to you that you can wake up as early as 3am or 4am in pursuit for it (say, going to work, school, conference, trip), then know that these two raka’ahs of the Sunnah of Fajr prayers entitle you for something bigger and more valuable.

Now that we’ve agree on the need to have constant readiness to strive and wake up for Fajr prayer, as well as we’ve agreed on its significance, let’s move on to sharing the 4 +1 bonus of practical tips for waking up successfully for Fajr prayers. Insha Allah.

top

The 4 +1 Bonus of Practical Tips for Waking Up for Fajr

Following are promised 4 +1 Bonus of practical tips for waking up for Fajr. Insha Allah.

Tip #1: Find Ways to Sleep Early!

Yes, you read it right… Find ways and ways to sleep early. Nothing makes up for sleeping early. Even if you’re trained to waking up for Fajr from childhood, you’ll struggle even more in waking up, if you go to be late. So, don’t compromise your sleep, dude.

Obviously, I’m not qualified to advice that sleeping early is good for your health. But I can attest to that from personal experience, that sleeping early grants you a good sleep. And a good sleep makes you active and focused during the day.

The question is, how do we make it to sleep early? Here are some tips:

• Avoid taking nap in the afternoon. Especially after ‘Asr. More so, closer to Maghrib.
• Make yourself productively busy during the day. It doesn’t help to remain idle the whole day… or sleep the whole day, and want to have a good sleep at night.
• Rearrange your time or schedules and moves those activities that you probably involve in during night time to daytime. Insha Allah.

Tip #2: Prepare your Body System for Fajr Prayer

It’s difficult to wake up for Fajr when our body is fatigued, our digestive system is overwhelmed during the night. A fatigued body with overwhelmed digestive system does not only deprive us from waking up for Fajr. It also render us lazy, aimless, and unfocused during the day. To overcome that, let’s consider the following:

• ensure your stomach is light (from meal as possible). Do this, by eating light.
• take your meal (dinner, is it?) hours before going to bed. Definitely not right before going to bed.
• take wuḍū’ before sleeping. It’s sunnah of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam to do so.
• recite your du’as before bed. Please find the variety of the du’as the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam would recited at bedtime here: Azkar for Going to Bed
• Recite your du’as after waking up from sleep. Also here: Du’a After Waking Up from Sleep.

Tip #3: Plan to Do Some ‘Ibadah before Fajr Prayer Time

This is inline with the Sunnah of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam. While there are some days he would sleep until Fajr time, most of the time, he would wake up for Qiyamullayl.

Regardless of what you choose to do (tahajjud, qiyamullayl, witr or whatever name we choose to call it) it can be don 15 minutes or even less, as long as it’s before azan of Fajr. You may be interest to check out this article, “Qiyamullail… Its Enhancers, Etiquettes and Stories”.

If you wake up for Qiyamullayl, in preparation for Fajr prayer, you are good to go. If you miss Qiyamullayl, then don’t miss The Sunnah of Fajr Prayer which is mentioned earlier, that it’s better than the world and whatever it contains.

Tip #4: Avoid Sinful Deeds, Especially Before Bedtime.

What do we watch before bedtime?

I can’t imagine someone who is determined to wake up for Fajr, and has lied down reciting du’a for going to bed, watching pornography before knocking off.

Who do we talk to?

If one needs to talk to someone before bedtime, refrain from talking to anyone who will spoil your mood, or who will talk to about sinful stuff.

What do you talk about or read?

If you should read at bedtime, read the Qur’an and du’as for sleeping. Ghost stories out of the window, please. Likewise ghost movies, and TikTok nonsenses.

What do we listen to at bedtime?

If you want to wake up for Fajr, I’ll suggest that you don’t listen to music at bedtime. Similarly, don’t play music overnight, while you’re asleep. Instead, play the Qur’an, or at least Surah al-Baqarah. this will be helpful, insha Allah.

Are there any other sinful things we do before bedtime? We know better. May Allah safeguard us and forgive us.

The Bonus Tip: Train Let’s Train Ourselves and Our Children on Waking Up for Fajr

The bonus tip is for us, parents. However, it’s targeted at our beloved bundles of gifts from Allah. Our princes and princesses. Our children. The ones who will pray for us after our departure from this world.

Train your children on waking up for fajr prayer, more than you would on waking up to go to school. If a person is trained to wake up for Fajr from childhood, it becomes part of his routine in adulthood. I’m mentioning this, so we don’t wake up for ourselves and neglect our children. Wake them up for Fajr.

When waking up for Fajr prayer becomes a habit, then he will likely wake up, even if he doesn’t meet some or all of the above conditions.

The good news is, a child who is trained to wake up for fajr will unlikely deprive himself from the above, except when he finds himself in circumstances beyond his control, or he emerges in evil doings. And this takes us to the next point.

top

Conclusion

Waking up for fajr prayer for the sake of Allah is an honour. An honour that only those who train themselves and succeed in making it part of their daily routine can relate.

Also, waking up for fajr prayer has a sweetness that only those who wake up for Fajr prayer on time can resonate with. And for males, if you pray at the mosque, it has even a totally different good flavour.

Here, it’s worth indicating, there’s a difference between praying fajr on time because we need to go to work or school or a meeting early in the morning, and waking up for fajr, because we must wake up for fajr, as Muslims. This must be wired in the muslim mind. Simply because, the one who prays fajr because he goes to work or school will likely miss fajr, on days he’s not working or schooling. Likely.

If you have read or scrolled down to this point, then consider sharing this article or video with your loved ones. If you would love to see your question answered, possibly in a video or article form or both, here on A Moment Please, then feel free to let me know.

May we be among those who when they listen to something, they develop the courage to follow the good of it.

Until the next A Moment Please!, I leave you in Allah’s protection. Now, let the discussion continue on Facebook.

Allāh knows best.
Allāhu Ḥāfiẓ 🙂