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A Wake Up
Call for Fajr Salaah
In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Dear All Brothers & Sisters: As-Salamu-Alaikum!
All praises and thanks are for Allah only. Prayers, Peace and Blessings
upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SWAS),and His (SWS) family and
noble companions.
Insha-Allah, again I am back to remind myself, my family and as well as
you and your family.
Its very important, please read it and implement/apply it and obey Allah
and Prophet Muhammad (SWS) 33:70-71, please check this verse. Please
print it and read it for everyone you know and as well forward it to
everyone you know.
As Allah says: ...Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the
believers at fixed hours. 4:103.
And enjoin AS-SALAT (The prayer) on your family, and be patient in
offering them (i.e. the Salat (prayers)). We ask not of you a provision
(i.e. to give Us something: money): We provide for you. And the good end
(i.e. Paradise) is for the Muttaqun (the pious). 20:132.
And
Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer Salat (Prayers)
with
all solemnity and full submissiveness. 23:1-2.
Amr ibn Shuaib related on his father's authority that his grandfather
reported Prophet (SWS) said: "Instruct your children to observe Salaat
(the five daily prayers) when they are seven years old, and spank them
if they do not observe it when they are ten years old and then do not
let them sleep in one bed." (Abu Daud).
The great reward for Fajr: The Prophet Muhammad (SWS) said:" Whoever
prays the dawn prayer in congregation, it is as if he had prayed the
whole night." Sahih Muslim, page 454, # 656 and At Tirmidhi, # 221.
The Prophet Muhammad also said: " The most burdensome prayers for the
hypocrites are Salat Al-Isha and Salat Al-Fajr, but if they only knew
what they contain, they would come even if they had to crawl." Imam
Ahamad, Al-Musnad, 2:424; Saheeh Al-Jami, 133.
It's hard enough getting ourselves & our children out of bed to get to
Fajr on time, but do we ever wonder how some of us get up and get their
children to pray Fajr during school days and get to school on time?
Well, it's not so impossible for some parents. Just ask Jamilah
Kolocotronis, the mother of six boys ages 4 to 17, all of whom pray Fajr
prayer.
"Four [of them] are over the age of ten so they have to make Salat," she
explains matter-of-factly. Kolocotronis is also a Social Studies teacher
at the Islamic School of Kansas City in Missouri.
Another parent whose kids regularly pray Fajr is Abdalla Idris Ali. He
is currently a member of the Islamic Society of North America's (ISNA)
Majlis Shura, which debates Islamic issues and establishes policy for
the organization.
They have suggested eight ways parents can help their kids wake up for
Fajr this school year (and beyond!). Now please pay attention to it very
carefully, indeed, it is one of the path to succeed in Allah Karim's
sight:
Tip #1: Going to bed early
We should not underestimate the power of a good night's rest. This is
crucial in ensuring us/children remain healthy.
We can do more in this area than just setting a specific bedtime and
enforcing it. We must set the example by also going to bed early and not
wasting time on late night television or just lounging around. This way,
the whole family is in synch and has a regular schedule.
"We have to help ourselves and our children set up schedules," notes
Kolocotronis.
Tip #2: Avoid too much junk food
What are childhood and adolescence without chips, candy bars and soft
drinks?
These types of food are high in sugar and tend to make people hyper and
lazy, kids included.
Reducing junk food intake, or limiting it to weekends, as well as
increasing kids' consumption of fruits and vegetables will ensure a
healthier diet, and less sluggishness.
Even the time children consume junk foods should be limited to between
Zuhr and Maghrib, as opposed to early in the morning or late at night,
before bed, Kolocotronis suggests.
Tip #3: Get us/them all alarm clocks
In most cases getting to bed on time and reducing junk food intake
should be enough to ensure your kids wake up for Fajr. But there are
always those of us, and this goes for kids as well, who need a virtual
explosion outside our bedroom windows to wake us up (this writer
included).
In this case, the alarm clock becomes your ally.
If you're stumped for Eid gift ideas for your kids, buy them a nice
alarm clock with a beautiful Adhan. Not only will this be an attractive
item to decorate their shelf or desk table with, but they will also wake
up hearing the call to prayer.
Most of these types of clocks are available in North America at Muslim
stores. If there is no such store or you can't find it in your
community, order it, or bring it back as a gift for Aminah or Saeed when
you go for Hajj, Umra, or to a Muslim country where these clocks are
sold.
If this is also not possible, get any alarm clock. The louder the
better.
And don't just think you have to use only one alarm clock. If waking up
is a very severe hardship in your household, buy and set a series of
alarm clocks at various places in the home.
Br. Idris Ali describes how one Muslim brother who has a very hard time
waking up has established a system using two alarm clocks. One is set in
the hallway, away from his bedroom, and a second one in the bathroom.
That way, even if he shuts off the alarm in the hallway and goes back to
bed, he will have to get up for the one in the bathroom. At that point,
there really is no point in turning back.
Tip #4: Assign one of the kids the responsibility for waking everyone up
This should instill enough responsibility in any person's heart to force
them to wake up for Fajr. It reminds us/them that if we oversleep and
miss Fajr, everyone in the will be missing, all because of him or her.
"They take it as a responsibility and a challenge," explains Br.Idris
Ali of the wisdom of this method to get kids to wake up for Fajr.
Using this method also stresses the importance of Fajr prayer, and
creates a sense of dutifulness and responsibility. The kids should take
turns doing this, but the older ones should be made responsible for
getting the younger ones up.
Assigning a responsibility can also be extended to calling the Adhan in
the house. This means if you give Ameer or Hassan the responsibility for
calling the Adhan on different days, they will also be forced to get up,
while their older brother Mahmud may be responsible for waking everyone
up.
Tip #5: Attach getting up for Fajr with a certain privilege
That means, for instance, that if Ammar misses Fajr on Thursday morning,
he will not be allowed to go over to his friend's place later that
evening.
Doing this emphasizes that praying Fajr is not just something that is
"good to do". It is something all Muslims have to do upon reaching a
certain age, and there are consequences for not doing so.
Tip #6: Avoid rewarding them for praying Fajr
Br.Idris Ali does not recommend rewarding kids for getting up and
praying Fajr, because it is possible they will stop doing so once the
reward is given.
"We want to move from expecting only a reward to loving Allah," he
notes.
Emphasizing the need to be grateful to Allah for all of things He has
blessed us with should also stress the importance of prayer, especially
Fajr, which is often hard to get up for.
Tip #7: For teenagers: make sure they have friends who pray Fajr
While it is usually easier to encourage young kids to pray Fajr (which
may explain the wisdom of the Hadith at the beginning of this letter),
it's harder to get teenagers not used to praying to do so.
In this case, it's important that they develop friendships with other
practicing Muslims their age. This will have a positive effect on them,
and they are more likely to listen to their peers and follow their
example at this age, than their parents.
WE can start doing this by widening your circle of family friends to
include practicing Muslim families who have (also practicing) kids your
son or daughter's age.
As well, invest in sending your kids to Muslim youth camps regularly,
where the habit of praying Fajr is practiced. A one-week camp may be
better in this regard, since it gives more time to develop the habit of
praying in general, as opposed to a two or three-day camp.
Tip #8: Establish a Fajr wake up calling system
This will work for adults too, but especially teenagers. Get your
children to call up their friends to wake them up for Fajr and
vice-versa. This will serve as positive peer pressure, and will feel
less like mom or dad are nagging them to get up.
They can also drive to the local Masjid if they have their driver's
license, with their friends, making this a way to pray and meet friends,
and in turn increase brotherhood.
Sisters/Girls can also call each other to wake up for Fajr. They can do
Jamaah prayer at home with the women of the household if they are not
able to go to the Masjid.
Now listen please, Praying Fajr is difficult for many Muslims, of all
ages. But as Br. Abdallah Idris Ali notes, a person who can wake up and
pray Fajr can perform the other prayers easily. Let's encourage this
habit in our family, relatives, friends and everyone to seek Allah's
pleasure and reward, to save us all from the severerest hell-fire
punishment.
Nevertheless, please remember, we must continue to strive sincerely to
devote ourselves to Allah, is the best of the best thing and to
encourage brothers/sisters to wake up for the Fajr Salaat, as because
Allah is the One Who is controlling all kind of means of assistance. If
someone has the true and pure sincerity and his/her heart is full &
complete fear and devotion to Allah, then Allah's help will arrive to
wake him/her up for Fajr Salaat, no matter how hard it is or had a short
sleep. So lets follow it as it is prescribed by Allah and Prophet (SWS).
There is no any other way. Allah Knows best.
Now, I close with a beautiful Hadith: Prophet Muhammad (SWS)said:
"Whoever prays Al-Bardayn (Fajr & Asr Prayers) will enter Paradise.
Sahih Al-Bukhari.
Insha-Allah, I will be back soon with more..., coming soon 1. The
Significance of Knowledge and Insha-Allah soon after that # 2. The
Purpose of This Creation by Allah, Patience and Gratefulness... and
Insha-Allah will continue. Allah knows best. I will be traveling Insha-Allah
and it will be a long journey, with my family, from Mississauga/Toronto -
Vancouver via Winnipeg (stop over). Make Du'a for us.
Please remember to include me and my family in your daily prayers. May
Allah accept it from me and I pray to Allah that it benefits all
Muslims. Ameen!
Allah Karim knows all best.
Tasir.
August, 2001.
Tasirul Islam
tasirul@yahoo.com
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