“Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and (also establish) the (recitation of the) Qur’an of dawn (the prayer of Dawn). Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed.” (17:78)

Ring Ring, Ring Ring… Alarm bells ringing away, I snuggle further into the comfort of my duvet. I wrap myself up further and tell myself ‘five more minutes and I’ll get up for my prayer’. Five minutes later the alarms are going off again, this time the athaan (call to prayer) can also be heard in the background. I wrap my duvet over my head and groan, once the athaan is complete I tell myself ‘I’ll get up in a moment’. Drifting off into a deep sleep, I hear the closing of doors and engines firing up knowing my neighbours are on their way to congregational prayers.

The morning light hits my face and I awake with a startle, Inna lillah, I missed my Fajr. How could I? Didn’t I hear my alarm?

All these questions going through my head… I realise I had woken up but my sheer laziness and my lack of desire resulted in me sleeping through what is a command and obligation from the Al mighty Allah Subhanhu WaTa’ala.

The Fajr prayer is the prayer of dawn which in part can be established by the verse of the Holy Quran seen at the beginning of this piece. It symbolises the start of the day, seeking the mercy of the Al mighty and requesting his assistance throughout the forth coming activities.

In general the magnitude of Salah (prayer) is highlighted in a Hadith of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi Wasallam, on the authority of Abu Hurairah Radhi Allahu Anhu:

He said the Prophet of Allah stated: The first action from the actions of a servant to be taken into account of the day of judgement will be his Salah, if that is in check he has succeeded and if that is not in check then he has certainly failed’.

This is a snippet of the hadith which is found in the book of Imam Al-Tirmidhi, Jami Al-Tirmidhi.

Now being informed by the best of mankind that the first thing we will be taken to account for by our creator and cherisher will be the obligatory prayers he has made incumbent upon us, should be enough to make us leave the comfort of our bed spreads and submit to him. The Fajr prayer is one of the hardest yet carries amazing reward.

“There are angels who take turns in visiting you by night and by day, and they all assemble at the dawn (Fajr) and the afternoon (Asr) prayers. Those who have spent the night with you ascend to the Heaven and their Lord, Who knows better about them, yet asks, ‘In what condition did you leave my servants?’ They reply, ‘We left them while they were performing Salah and we went to them while they were performing Salah.’” (Bukhari)

This amazing Hadith shows that at the change of shift of the angels we can have ourselves mentioned in the court of Allah simply by fulfilling our duty, whilst the first and last thing the angels will see us doing, is serving Allah.

To put into context the severity of forgoing this simple obligation, here is a hadith, small yet concise:

Jabir Radhi Allah Anhu narrates he heard the Messenger of Allah Sallalaahu Alaihi Wasallam saying ‘verily between a man, ascribing partners to Allah and disbelieving is neglecting S    alaah. (Muslim)

There above is just one of numerous warnings to those of us who prefer the comfort of our beds over prostration before our lord.

A little prescription to ensure we are making the utmost effort possible to waken from our slumber at the crack of dawn IS Sleep with the sincere intention of waking up for fajr.

Sleep with numerous alarms within moments of each other, so we don’t have time to fall into a deep sleep between each one.

Once the alarm is heard, immediately drag ourselves out of bed.

Make ourselves accountable to a trustworthy friend, sometimes a little guilt trip goes a long way.

Once we make these small efforts, if done consistently enough they will become habits, give it a go. In Sha Allah within forty days, it will become normality.

Let’s all make Dua’ to Allah, may he accept our endeavours and make us from amongst His sincere servants who find comfort in submitting to him five times a day and beyond.

Mohammed Atiq Nanabawa