Virtues of fajr prayer and practical ways to wake up for prayer

Virtues of fajr prayer

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.” (Muslim, p. 454, no. 656; al-Tirmidhi, 221).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allah 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 Allah 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.

 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 salaatal-’isha’ and salaat al-Fajr…”

In al-Saheeh, 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 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).

Another hadeeth, which indicates the seriousness of missing salaat 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).

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:

1. Sleeping early:

2. Making sure that one is clean (taahir) and reciting adhkaar (prayers) before sleeping. This helps a person to get up for fajr.

3. Having a sincere intention and being determined, when going to sleep, that one will get up for fajr.

4. Remembering Allah as soon as one wakes up.

5. Seeking help from one’s family and friends to pray fajr, and encouraging one another in this regard. 

6. Praying to Allah 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.

7. Using various means of being woken up, such as alarm clocks. These should be put in the most appropriate place.

8. One can also arrange to receive alarm calls from the telephone company

9. Throwing water in the face of the person who is sleeping.

10. Being lively and active upon waking.

11. Not eating too much before going to sleep.

12 Helping oneself by taking a nap during the day, because this will help a person by making him need less sleep at night.