Taking the means to wake up for the Fajr prayer - Sh Sulaymaan ar-Ruhaylee

[Yusuf.McNulty.al.Irlandee]

Sh Sulaymaan ar-Ruhaylee, hafidhahullaah, said:


The believer who has been granted success gets up before the start of Fajr, so that he can catch a portion of the end of the night. He prays within it whatever Allaah wills for him to pray and he preforms the dhikr of Allaah.

If only man could get himself accustomed to this practise, he would find it like a paradise on earth. Some of the slaves of Allaah, whom we know of today, delight in rising from their beds to make Wudoo and pray in the last part of the night, up until the Fajr prayer. In this they experience great pleasure.

It's obligatory upon every believer that he wakes up for the Fajr prayer. If he is a man then it is binding upon him that he wakes up for the Fajr prayer and that he prays it along with the Jamaa'ah. And if it's the woman then she must pray it in its proper time (at home).

Binding upon the believers is to take the means that help one in getting up to pray Fajr, one does not stay up so late to the point that he ends up sleeping past the time of Fajr. Pay attention to this O brothers! The 'Ulamaa have said that it is not even allowed to pray the night prayer (late) if one knows that it will tire him and prevent him from praying the Fajr prayer due to sleep. So what would be the case if one stayed up late but not even busy with the obedience of Allaah?!

He must also use the various ways of waking himself up (alarm clock etc) and so if one has taken the means, but then his sleep overpowers him without any negligence on his behalf (and he sleeps past the Fajr prayer), then in this circumstance he is excused. If one slept past a prayer or forgot to pray it, then he must pray it as soon as he wakes up or remembers it, there is no other excuse for him (other than these two). As for the one who is negligent with regards to this, then he has no excuse with his sleep. Rather from Ahlul-'Ilm are those who say that the one who purposely delays the Fajr prayer beyond it's legislated time by not taking the means that will aid him to wake up is a kaafir due to this (abandonment of Fajr).

So this affair is extremely dangerous, extremely important. Therefore it's befitting upon all of us that we give the prayer it's due worth, and that we honour it with up-most respect and that we prepare for it as it should be prepared for, because from the most important of our actions, the best of our deeds and the key to the success of the rest of our deeds is the prayer.

So whomsoever preserves it will preserve other than it, and whomsoever neglects it will be more negligent with other than it and Allaah knows best.


- Translated by Abul-Husayn Yusuf McNulty from the following link:
http://www.sahab.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=143134