What is the Witr Prayer? How did the Prophet (peace be upon him) perform it? What does distinguish it from the Maghrib prayer (sunset Prayer)? With many different ways and sayings concerning how to perform salah, whom should we follow and what way should we adopt?
Know the answer to all these questions and listen to Sheikh Mohammed Salah briefing on how the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the Witr Prayer and why should we follow him.
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Source: Huda TV.
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To wake up for Fajr prayer, having a consistent morning routine can be quite challenging.
One of the challenges that a Muslim faces when trying to wake up for Fajr every day is the constant shifting of the Fajr prayer. Depending on the season you’re in, it constantly shifts either few minutes forward each day or few minutes back each day. Thus, it can be difficult to keep up with a varied Fajr schedule throughout the year.
This varied schedule poses three challenges for a productive Muslim:
1- It’s difficult to “train” your brain to wake up at a certain time each day. When you read productivity books, their advice is to always wake up early around the same time each day, e.g. 5 a.m. This helps train your brain to wake you up early regardless of how late you slept the night before.
However, for a Muslim, this is not realistic, especially with the shifting time for Fajr prayer, which can start as early as 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. or as late as 7 a.m., depending on the season and which part of the world you’re in.
2- It’s difficult to maintain a regular “night” prayer routine. If you want to benefit from the last third of the night and get up and pray, you cannot have a consistent schedule. In some seasons, this will require you to wake up as early as 1am or 2 a.m. and in some seasons, you’ll need to wake up at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Again, it can be difficult for you to stay consistent.
3- You cannot maintain a consistent schedule or morning routine. Since your morning keeps expanding and contracting depending on what time you have to wake up for Fajr prayer, having a consistent morning routine can be quite challenging.
So How Do You Overcome This Challenge?
The solution is in a new routine I’ve developed recently. By Allah’s permission and help, I have been able to consistently wake up 45 minutes before Fajr Adhan, regardless of the season and time of year I’m in.
This has helped me train my brain to wake up in sync with Fajr prayer Adhan, as well as in sync with the seasons. It has also helped me maintain a regular night prayer + witr routine, since I now have a 45-minute window before the Fajr Adhan .
So here’s my solution: This is a 3-step process that has worked for me and I hope and pray that it works with you.
I got myself a desk Fajr clock. The clock has a unique feature i.e. it has an alarm that goes off in sync with the Fajr Adhan and you can set it to wake you up at least 10 minutes before Fajr, every day. Therefore, regardless of the time of Fajr Adhan, it’ll go off exactly 10 minutes before Fajr.
Every person has a unique “alarm habit” whether you’re consciously aware of it or not. For some, it’s the classic ‘hit the snooze button and sleep until it’s too late for you to hit the snooze button again’ habit. For others, it’s to simply shut the alarm and sleep for another 20-30 minutes before waking up scared that they’ll miss their morning commute.
I used to have quite a funny alarm habit myself. My alarm clock (the Fajr clock I mentioned above) was placed at the other end of my room. When it went off, I got up, walked across the room, turned it off and then walked straight back to bed for a snooze before my phone’s alarm woke me up. Normally, it worked for me. But, sometimes it didn’t and that bothered me.
Thinking about that routine, I realize it didn’t make sense. “Why am I heading back to my bed after waking up and walking across the room?!”. So I decided to change my routine to change my habit.
I simply changed the direction of my walk after I turned off the alarm. Instead of walking back to bed, I walked straight to the bathroom to get ready for salah. Initially, making that conscious shift of walking to the bathroom instead of the bed was quite challenging because I was trying to overcome an old habit.
However, after a few days, this habit has become ingrained in me. Now, I find it much easier to get up at any time the Adhan clock goes off and walk straight to the bathroom and get ready for salah.
When I first changed my alarm habit, I used to have the Fajr alarm set at least 5 minutes before Fajr Adhan. Of course, this gave me no time to pray Tahajjud (late night prayer) or Witr on time. So what I wanted to do was gradually train my mind to wake up earlier and earlier each day. I knew that if I “jerk” my brain to wake up half an hour before the time it’s used to wake up, I might be tempted to go back to my old routine and walk straight into bed for a snooze.
To make this transition smooth, I followed a simple procedure. Each week, I set my alarm to go off 5 minutes earlier than the previous week. This small tweak of the alarm each week allowed me to gradually train my mind to consistently wake up 45 minutes before Fajr each day. This helped me overcome two of the challenges I mentioned earlier:
1- Training my brain to wake up at “same time” each day.
2- Staying consistent with night prayer.
What about the third challenge i.e. maintaining a consistent morning routine? To overcome this challenge, I would review my morning routine every three months. Normally, three months is enough time for Fajr prayer to have moved significantly to require me to tweak my morning routine.
The way I tweak my morning routine is by either adding or removing “optional” morning activities to/from my “core” morning activities to have an optimal morning routine, depending on the season.
What are My Core/Optional Morning Activities?
4-6 rak`ah Tahajjud
2 raka`ah Tahajjud
Witr Prayer
Istighfar (asking Allah’s forgiveness)
Repeat after the Fajr Adhan with the nearby mosque muezzin (one who calls the Adhan)
Fajr sunnah
Fajr Prayer
Remembrance after salah
Morning remembrance
Qur’an recitation
Writing, Brainstorming
Reading
Gym (swimming, weights, running)
7-30 minutes of home exercise
Breakfast
I want to go a level deeper with you and give you a really pro tip. This is for the productivity professionals out there.
You can play with the above system so you reduce the variance between your earliest summer wake-up time and earliest winter wake-up time. This way, you don’t go through massive swings during the year. For example, if Fajr gets as early as 3am and as late as 7 a.m. in your area (depending on the season), following my 45-minute routine before Fajr tip, the earliest you’ll wake up in the summer is 2.30 a.m. and the earliest you’ll wake up in the winter is 6.30 a.m. However, that’s a 4 hour swing/variance in one year, which can be quite hard to adapt to.
What if during winter, instead of waking up at 6.30am, you wake up at 4.30am and give yourself a longer period to pray Tahajjud.
This way, the gap between your earliest winter wake-up time and summer wake-up time is 2 hours, which won’t be as difficult to adjust to, In sha Allah.
I hope the above has helped you in some way to develop a powerful wake-up routine that not only allows you to never miss Fajr, but also keep up with the Fajr timings throughout the year and get a chance to keep up with your night prayer each night. Of course, I must mention that waking up early for Fajr and Tahajjud is a blessing from Allah and can only happen by His permission.
Hence whenever applying the above techniques, remember you’re simply taking the means, but your heart and hopes should be connected to Allah in Whose Hands is your ability to wake up. Pray that you wake up early and worship Him and remember: “You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help”.
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Source: Productive Muslim.
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The first day of the month following Ramadan is `Eid Al-Fitr (`Eid of Breaking the Fast). This is the celebration of fast-breaking. Muslims watch the western horizon immediately after sunset on the 29th day of Ramadan for the crescent. If the crescent is sighted, it is the first day of the new month and beginning of `Eid day. If the crescent is not sighted within ½ an hour after sunset on the 29th day of Ramadan the Muslims complete 30 days of fasting. Either way, the 1st of Shawwal (the 10th month of the Islamic lunar calendar) is `Eid Al-Fitr.
On `Eid day, Muslims gather in a larger facility than the neighborhood masjid and join in Salat Al-’Eid which is composed of salah followed by an address by the imam (leader of the prayer).
This is a major holiday for the Muslims. On this day, they visit many relatives and friends and give gifts to the children.
`Eid is, first, a day of thanks to Allah, and next, a gathering of families and friends. All financially able Muslims are required to give Sadaqat Al-Fitr, a form of charity, on behalf of each and every person of the family, including newborns, to the poor and needy during the Ramadan but before the `Eid Prayers.
There are a number of etiquettes and acts of Sunnah that the Muslim should observe on that day, including:
1. Ghusl (taking a bath):
One of the good manners of `Eid is to take bath before going out to the Prayer. It was reported that Sa`id ibn Jubayr said: “Three things are Sunnah on `Eid: to walk (to the prayer-place), to take a bath, and to eat before coming out (if it’s Eid Al-Fitr).”
2. Eating before coming out:
One should not come out to the prayer-place on `Eid Al-Fitr before eating some dates, because of the hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari from Anas ibn Malik who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not go out in the morning of `Eid Al-Fitr until he had eaten some dates… and he would eat an odd number.” On `Eid-ul-Adha, on the other hand, it is Mustahab (recommended) not to eat until after the Prayer, when one should eat from the meat of one’s sacrifice.
3. Takbir on the day of `Eid: This is one of the greatest Sunnahs of this day. Al-Daraqutni and others reported that when Ibn `Umar came out on `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid-ul-Adha, he would strive hard in making Takbir until he reached the prayer-place, then he would continue making Takbir until the Imam came.
4. Congratulating one another: People may exchange congratulations and good greetings on `Eid, no matter what form the words take. For example they may say to one another, “Taqabbal Allahu minnaa wa minkum (may Allah accept from us and from you our good deeds!)”. Jubayr ibn Nufayr said: “At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when people met one another on the day of `Eid, they would say, ‘Taqabbal Allahu minnaa wa minka.’” (Reported by Ibn Hajar)
5. Wearing one’s best clothes for `Eid: Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a Jubbah (cloak) that he would wear on `Eid and on Fridays.” Al-Bayhaqi reported that Ibn `Umar used to wear his best clothes on `Eid, so men should wear the best clothes they have when they go out for `Eid.
6. Changing route on returning from Prayer-place: Jabir ibn `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to change his routes on the day of `Eid. (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
The `Eid prayer is to be held outdoors in a large open ground.In inclement weather, or due to a lack of adequate arrangements, `Eid prayer is sometimes performed in the mosques.Muslims can be seen walking and driving to the praying area, carrying prayer rugs and glorifying God.His or her words ringing out: “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillahi El-Hamd” (God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, there is none worthy of worship but God; God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, Praise be to Him.)
As Muslim families begin to congregate at the prayer place, the praising of God is joined with words of congratulations.Children dart about in anticipation of gifts and feasts, older people reflect on the success of Ramadan and the Magnificence of God.
A quiet hush then spreads across the crowd as the `Eid prayer begins. It differs slightly from the normal prayers, and although it is not obligatory, it is highly recommended that Muslims attend.
Muslims stand shoulder to shoulder and give thanks to God not only for the joy of Ramadan, but also for the countless blessings He bestows upon us every day.
1- As on Friday, every worshipper should go to the `Eid Congregation in his best, neat, tidy and high-spirited. In the mosque or the place of assembly a certain verbal prayer is said before the actual prayer begins. This is known as Takbir.
2- The time of the `Eid prayers is any time after sunrise and before noon. No adhan or iqamah is required. The prayer consists of two units with the Imam reciting in each the Al-Fatihah (the 1st chapter of the Qur’an) and another passage from the Qur’an audibly.
3- The Imam declares his intention to lead the prayer saying Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest of all), then he repeats the same utterance seven times, raising his hands up to the ears and dropping them by his sides at the end of each utterance.
On completion of the seventh Takbir (utterance) he places the right hand over the left one under the navel as in other prayers. The worshippers follow the Imam in these movements step by step, doing and saying exactly the same
4- At the end of the first unit, the Imam rises up for the second, saying Allahu Akbar. Then he adds five such utterances doing the same thing as he did in the first unit, and followed by the congregation in a like manner
5- After the prayer is completed in two units, the Imam delivers a sermon of two parts with a short recess in between. The first part is begun by saying Allahu Akbar, nine times and the second by making same utterance seven times. The rest of the sermon goes along the lines of exhortation and advice like those of the Friday sermon
6- We must draw the attention to the matter of sadaqat Al-Fitr (the charity of breaking the fast). This is an obligatory tax, whereby every individual Muslim who can afford it must give at least one full meal, or its value, to the poor.
If he has any dependents, he must do the same thing for each one of his dependents. For example, if he provides for himself and three dependents, he has to distribute as a minimum four full meals or their value to the needy.
This charity should be distributed early enough before the Eid-l-Fitr prayer so that the poor may be able to receive the Day in a festive and cheerful spirit
7. In the sermon of the Second ‘Eid, the Imam should draw the attention to the duty of Sacrifice. On the day of `Eid Al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) every Muslim with means is to offer an oblation. A goat or sheep suffices for one household. A cow or steer suffices for seven different households. It is preferable to slaughter the animal of Sacrifice on the `Eid day after prayers. But if it is slaughtered on the second or the third day, it will be accepted. With regard to the meats of the slaughtered animals the Qur’an stipulates these instructions:
“Eat of them and feed the poor man who is contented and the beggar…” (Al-Hajj 22:63)
In the same reference, the Holy Qur’an declares that God is neither interested in nor does He get the meats of the oblations or their blood; but it is the piety of His worshippers that He gets and is interested in
It should be repeated that the `Eid prayers do not substitute for the Fajr (obligatory early morning) Prayers, and cannot themselves be substituted for by any other prayers
The Takbir, which is said before the prayers of both `Eid and after the ordinary congregations prayers offered during the three days following the second `Eid, is called Takbir At-Tashriq. It goes as follow:
Allahu Akbar, (thrice)
La illaha illa Allah
Allahu Akbaru (twice) wa lil-Lahi-l-hamd.
This Takbir means:
God is the Greatest, (three times)
There is no god but the One God.
God is the Greatest, (twice), and praise be to Him
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Sources:
Islam in Focus by Hammudah Abd Al-Ati
islamreligion.com
Islamqa.com
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How did Prophet Muhammad perform the Tahajjud (late night) prayer? How did he praise Allah? What du`aa’ did he say?
It is the middle of the night, or maybe a little before that time or a little thereafter. The Prophet wakes up. He sits in bed and wipes the sleep from his eyes. He picks up his tooth stick and brushes his teeth. He then turns his gaze to the heavens and avails himself of the peace and quiet at night to meditate on Allah’s greatness and how it manifests itself in the majesty of His creation. He recites a ten-verse passage from Surat Aal `Imran which begins with words:
Verily in the creation of the heavens and Earth, and in the alternation of night and day are signs for those who understand. (Aal `Imran 3:190)
He stands up and takes a water skin down from where it hangs on the wall. He opens it and pours out some water into a large cup. He uses this to perform ablution for prayer. He does not use much water for his ablution, though he completes them thoroughly.
Before he commences with the late night prayer (Tahajjud), he sometimes engages in the glorification of his Lord with the recitation of a number of remembrances. This prepares his mind for prayer. `A’ishah gives us an account of the things he says:
“When Allah’s Messenger got up at night to pray the Tahajjud, he used to extol Allah’s greatness ten times then praise him ten times. Then, he would say the words “Glory and praise be to Allah” ten times. Then, he would say “Glory be to the Holy King” ten times. Then, he would ask Allah for forgiveness ten times. Then, he would say “There is no God but Allah” ten times. He would conclude by saying:
“O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the tribulations of this worldly life and the tribulations of the Day of Resurrection.”
Then, he would commence his prayer.
He begins by offering two brief units of prayer. The prayer will become much longer. Though he prays quickly when he leads others in prayer, he is just the opposite when he prays alone. He prolongs every action in the Tahajjud prayer, form the opening recitations, to the recitation of the Qur’an, to the supplications. Tahajjud is the longest prayer he makes. He is following Allah’s specific command to him in the Qur’an:
Stand in prayer the night long, except for a little. (Al- Muzzammil 73:2)
If we consider the Prophet’s state of mind, we realize that he is totally immersed in prayer while offering Tahajjud. His every thought and feeling are engaged and his communion with his Lord is total. It is as if his spirit has ascended to heaven and is being bathed in divine light while looking upon the throne of his Lord. It is as if he is having a private audience with Allah, so he extols His praises in the most emphatic way and beseeches Him with the most perfect supplications. This is not surprising, since the Prophet really had such an experience on the night of his ascension above the seven heavens, where he was brought to a level where could hear the scraping of the pens as they wrote out the decrees.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) has greater knowledge of Allah and stronger faith than anyone else in creation. His faith is certain. He admits this to his Companions: “The most God-fearing and knowledgeable about Allah among you is none other than myself.” (Al-Bukhari)
He commences the Tahajjud prayer with a heart full of reverence, love and longing for his Lord. His words are full of invocations of awe and praise. Among the words he uses to commence his prayers are the following:
“O Allah! Lord of Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, Creator of the heavens and earth, Knower of the seen and unseen, You will judge between Your servants in what they used to differ. Guide me by Your Grace to the truth in what they differ about. Indeed, You guide whomever You please to a path that is straight.”
“O Allah! Our Lord, Yours is the praise. You are the light of the heavens and earth and all that they contain. Yours is the praise. You sustain the heavens and earth and all that they contain. You are the King of the heavens and earth and all they contain. Yours is the praise. You are the Truth. Your Promise is true. The meeting with You is true. Your Word is true. Paradise is true. Hell is true. The Prophets are true. Muhammad is true. The Final Hour is true. O Allah, to You I have submitted and in You I have believed, and upon You I rely. I repent my sins to You. For Your Sake I dispute and by Your Standards I judge, so forgive me for what I have done before and what I have left behind, for what I have committed secretly and what I have committed openly and what only You know that I have done. You are the One Who sends forth and You are the One Who delays. There is no God but You. There is no might or power except with You.”
“I turn my face to the Creator of the heavens and earth upon the pure faith, and I am not from among the polytheists. Indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, Who is without partner. This is as I was commanded, and I am of those who submit. O Allah! You are the King. There is no God but You. You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have been unjust to myself and I confess my sins, so forgive me all of my sins, for indeed no one forgives sins but You. Guide me to the best conduct. No one guides to what is best except You. Keep me away from bad conduct, for no one can do this for me except You. Here I am. I heed Your Call, happy to serve You. All good is in Your Hands and no evil belongs to You. I exist by Your Will and shall return to You. You are Blessed and Sublime. I seek Your Forgiveness and repent unto You.”
Then, the Prophet begins to recite the Qur’an. He recites in a slow and melodious voice and is attentive to every word. When he recites a verse that speaks about Allah’s Mercy, he beseeches Allah. When he recites a verse that warns of Allah’s Wrath, he seeks refuge from it. When a verse of the Qur’an speaks of Allah’s Glory, he glorifies Allah.
He stands for a long time in recitation. Ibn Mas`ud tells us: “I prayed with Allah’s Messenger one night, and he stood for so long that I almost resolved to do a very bad thing.” When asked what that bad thing was, he says: “I considered sitting down and not continuing with the Prophet in prayer.”
Sometimes the Prophet prolongs his recitation and offers a few very long units of prayer. On other nights, he stands in recitation for a shorter time and offers more units of prayer.
When he bows, he remains bowing for a long time, almost as long as the time he spends standing in recitation. He says:
“O Allah! I bow to You. In You I believe, to You I submit, and upon You I rely. You are my Lord. My hearing, my sight, my flesh, my blood, my mind, my bones, my sinew, and what my feet bear up, all of them submit in humility to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. Glory be to the Possessor of Might, Pride, and Greatness, the Glorified and Holy, the Lord of the angels and of the Holy Spirit.”
Near the end of his life, he will often say while bowing and prostrating:
“Glory and praise be to Allah, our Lord. O Allah, forgive me.”
`A’ishah asked him about this, and he said: “My Lord has told me that I will see a sign in my community, and if I see that sign I should start saying: “Glory and praise be to Allah. I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him.” I have seen this sign (which is found in the following verses of the Qur’an):
When the help of Allah and the victory come, and you see the people entering into Islam in droves, then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek His forgiveness. Verily, He is ever ready to accept repentance. (An-Nasr 110:1-3)
The Prophet understands from this verse that the end of his life is near.
The Prophet prolongs his prostration in Tahajjud. He spends almost as much time prostrating as he in his bowing. It is here that he asks of Allah’s Grace and beseeches Him in many ways. The Prophet tells us:
“The nearest we are to our Lord is when we are in prostration, so beseech Him often at that time.” (Muslim)
He also says while in prostration:
“O Allah, to You I prostrate myself and in You I believe. To You I have submitted. My face is prostrated to the One who created it, fashioned it, and gave it the faculties of hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators. O Allah! Forgive me all my sins, great and small, the first and the last of them, those that are apparent and those that are hidden. O Allah! I seek refuge in Your Pleasure from Your Anger, and in Your Forgiveness from Your Punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot count Your Praises. You are as You have praised Yourself.”
This is how the Prophet relates to his Lord in the depths of the night, in communion filled with worship, exaltation, reverence and submission. His spirit is raised up to great heights from his devotion and longing for his Lord. It is as if the world with all its vast mountains and starry skies recedes and regards him from a distance, bearing witness to his compliance with Allah’s command:
“Remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with full devotion. (Al- Muzzammil 73:8)
The Prophet remains in worship throughout the night, reciting the Qur’an with reverence, beseeching his Lord in humility and praising Allah’s holy name, until only one-sixth of the night remains. At this time, he pauses from his Tahajjud prayers and wakes up his wife so they can offer the Witr Prayer together. He performs the Witr Prayer as three consecutive units. In the first, he recites Surat Al-A`la (87th chapter of the Qur’an). In the second, he recites Al-Kafirun (the 109th). In the last, he recites Al-Ikhlas (the 112th). Sometimes, in the final unit of prayer, he also recites Surat Al-Falaq and Al-Nas (the 113th and 114th chapters of the Qur’an).
At the end of the Witr Prayer, he says:
“O Allah! I seek refuge in Your Pleasure from Your Anger, and in Your Forgiveness from Your Punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot count Your Praises. You are as You have praised Yourself.”
After completing the Witr Prayer, he says three times: “Glory be to the Holy King.” He holds the words longer on the final repetition.
The Prophet prays Tahajjud in his small one-room house that is free from luxuries and worldly effects. Sometimes he has a mat to pray on that is just big enough to accommodate him in prostration. At other times, he only has the bedding that he shares with his wife. He prays while she lies sleeping in front of him. There are no lamps in his house, so when he wants to prostrate in prayer, he makes a gentle indication to her so she can move her feet out of his way. When he stand up again, she stretches her legs back out.
On rare occasions, he goes to the mosque to pray Tahajjud. He does so when there are extenuating circumstances, like when his wife is in extra need of rest and he wants to avoid disturbing her. On one occasion, `A’ishah realizes he is not in the house, and she reaches out of the door leading into the mosque and finds his foot. He is engaged in worship there and saying:
“O Allah! I seek refuge in Your Pleasure from Your Anger, and in Your Forgiveness from Your Punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot count Your Praises. You are as You have praised Yourself.”
On another occasion, she finds him missing and fears he may be at the home of one of his other wives. She goes out searching for him and returns to find that he is deeply involved in prayer. She says to herself: “By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, my mind is on one thing and yours is on something else entirely.”
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The text is written by Sheikh Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Turayri
Source: islamtoday.net
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