The key to spiritual and material success for Muslims

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" – a famous maxim coined by the American scientist, writer and inventor, Benjamin Franklin.  And he was not alone in these beliefs.  The writer Samuel Johnson also warned that "nobody who does not rise early will ever do any good".

This is not just opinion but proven scientific fact.  A study by researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo in the American state of Utah found that:

"students who habitually go to bed late and sleep late the next day have lower grade point averages (GPAs) than students with early-to-bed and early-to-rise sleeping habits.  The later students slept in the morning, the lower their grades tended to be.  Out of all the factors studied, weekday and weekend wakeup times had the strongest association with students’ GPAs. Each hour over the average that students slept in on weekdays was associated with a 0.13-point drop on the GPA (0.0-4.0 scale)."
Source: Journal of American College Health 2000; 49: 125-130

Of course, we Muslims are well used to getting up not just at the crack of dawn but actually half an hour before it to begin the day with the ritual worship of fajr salat (and even earlier in Ramadan before starting the day’s fast).

Spiritual Success

What are the spiritual blessings of fajr salat?

According to a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) stated that the action which is dearest to God is salat at its proper times.  On another occasion prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) also said to his companions:

"The five set prayers may be compared to a stream of fresh water, flowing in front of your house, into which you plunge five times each day. Do you think that would leave any dirt on your body?’ When they replied: ‘None at all!’ Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said: ‘Indeed the five prayers remove sins, just as water removes dirt."  (Bukhari, Muslim)

And once while standing beside a tree in autumn, he stated:

"When a Muslim observes his salat with due attention and devotion, he sheds his sins just like this tree is shedding its leaves." (Ahmad)

Moreover, in the Quran we are told that prostrating (in salat) brings us closer to God (96:1).

Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) also tells us that fajr salat along with isha is particularly rich in blessings:

"If people only knew what blessings are in the fajr and isha prayers, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl." (Bukhari and Muslim)

And according to Utham, (RA), prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said:

"To perform the dawn prayer, [fajr], in congregation is like keeping vigil throughout the night." (Muslim).

Material Success

In Surah 23, ayats 1-2 of the Quran we learn that:

"Certainly the believers have succeeded, those who offer salat with devotion."

Spiritual success certainly.  But as Muslims we are also called upon not just to earn spiritual blessings for the next world but also to be materially successful in this one.  Despite the obvious call to work hard and make the most of our abilities demonstrated in the parable of the talents, the Christian West has often had an ambiguous attitude towards wealth, sometimes glorifying poverty and misinterpreting Jesus’s gospel statement that "love of money is the root of all evil" to mean that money itself is the root of all evil.  As a Muslim, I am more inclined to agree with the playwright George Bernard Shaw who is reported to have said that "lack of money is the root of all evil".

[Shaw was an admirer of prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) and in the 1936 book The Genuine Islam referred to him as "the wonderful man" and "the saviour of humanity".]

Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) himself stated:

"There will dawn a time over people when the destruction of a man will be at the hands of his wife, parents, and children. They will humiliate him because of his poverty and will make such demands which will induce him to engage in such activities (to gain more money) which will finally destroy his religion." – Baihaqi. Narrated by Ibn Mas’ood (RA) and Abu Hurairah (RA)

The other side of the coin, so to speak, is:

"How excellent is the wealth of the Muslim". – Sahih Bukhari hadith 4.95 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri (RA)

It is wealth which enables us to take care of our families, keep on the straight path and avoid doing wrong in order to make ends meet.  It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to pay Zakat.  It is wealth which enables us to help others and contribute to Dawah through additional charity.  It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to go on Hajj.

It was wealthy Muslim traders who peacefully spread Islam throughout West Africa and the areas we now know as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  And if we look at the first generation of Muslims, we find the shining example of Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awl.  The eighth person to embrace Islam, he migrated twice to Abyssinia.  Abdur-Rahman distinguished himself in both the battles of Badr and Uhud, suffering more than twenty wounds at the latter.  Then starting with nothing, he went on to achieve tremendous success as a merchant, becoming the richest of the companions.  From his great wealth, Abdur-Rahman financed the Muslim armies, contributed to the upkeep of the family of Mohammed (Peace be upon him) after the prophet’s death and was universally renowned for his fabulous generosity.

So how can we turn getting up for Fajr to our material advantage?  Certainly not by slinking back into bed again and snuggling up for another few hours.  As prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said:

"The most excellent jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

In the context of fajr, what this means is, once up, stay up!  Stay up and do something useful.  Work on your goals.  If you don’t have any, set some.  Decide what you want to achieve in life.  Devise a plan to make those goals a reality then take action.  You will be amazed at what you can get done in those few quiet hours when most of the rest of the world is still asleep.  You can organise your day, learn a language, work on your degree course or get fit by going jogging in the coolness of the morning.

You can also turn staying up after fajr to your career advantage by driving into work earlier, beating the traffic then packing so much productive work into the next hour without interruption because no one is there to pop into your office and the phone hasn’t started ringing yet.

A further fajr advantage is that along the way you can listen on cassette to the wisdom and inspiration of motivational and business speakers.  We spend hundreds of ours commuting in our cars every year, by some estimates the equivalent to two full terms of university tuition.  Put this time to good use, especially first thing in the morning when you are relaxed and driving on a virtually empty road, when you are bright and fresh and can best take it all in.  Turn your car into a university on wheels.

Each of our lives is different, but you know how to apply these ideas to your own situation.

Take action now!

"Ah, that’s too hard", I hear you say.  Well God assures us in the Quran that:

"We do not lay a burden on anyone beyond his capacity." (Quran: 23:62)

It is possible to turn these early hours to great advantage.  It’s desirable and it’s beneficial.  We are obliged to get up for fajr anyway.  From this we derive a spiritual advantage.  Let’s stay up and get to work.  Why have just one type of advantage when we can have two – spiritual and material.  As Muslims we are uniquely placed.  The next fajr is less than 24 hours from now.  First thing tomorrow morning make sure that you take advantage of your fajr double advantage.

Source: By Michael Young, Islam For Today
via http://www.productivemuslim.com

Ponder over this: FAJR

A man woke up early in order to pray the Fajr prayer in the masjid. He got dressed, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid. On his way to the masjid, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself off, and headed home. At home, he changed his clothes, made his ablution, and was, again, on his way to the masjid.

On his way to the masjid, he fell again and at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home. At home he, once again, changed his clothes, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.

On his way to the masjid, he met a man holding a lamp. He asked the man of his identity and the man replied ‘I saw you fall twice on your way to the masjid, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way.’

The first man thanked him profusively and the two where on their way to the masjid. Once at the masjid, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in and pray Fajr with him. The second man refused. The first man asked him a couple more times and, again, the answer was the same. The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.The man replied ‘I am Satan.

‘The man was shocked at this reply. Satan went on to explain, ‘I saw you on your way to the masjid and it was I who made you fall. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the masjid, Allah forgave all of your sins. I made you fall a second time, and even that did not encourage you to stay home, but rather, you went back on your way to the masjid. Because of that, Allah forgave all the sins of the people of your household. I was afraid if i made you fall one more time, then Allah will forgive the sins of the people of your village, so i made sure that you reached the masjid safely.’

So do not let Satan benefit from his actions. Do not put off a good that you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might recieve from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good.

A short 3 minute video on why every Muslim should pray Fajr Salat. Tells of its importance and its rewards. Must see for every muslim. Are you being careless with the Fajr Salat? If so, then this video will inshallah help you

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This is a popular story from Saudi Arabia and begins with a family where islam is not a strong force inside the house. So for example you find that in the family home the mother listens to pop music and encourages her children to dance in the house while the husband spends his time in front of the tv when at home, does not pray or go to the masjid and never reads quran or plays with his young son who had justed started school and is the centre of this account.

One morning at school the teacher asks the class ” Who prayed fajr?” Our young boy was the only chld who did not raise his hand and the teacher further inquired “Why?’ “My father and mother dont pray in the house so I dont pray too” was his reply. “Well, you must pray your fajr” replied the teacher.

That night at home this young boy was determined to awaken for fajr and go to the mosque which was only a short walk from the home. He set his alarm clock and went to sleep early.he kept his alarm right by his head so that when it sounded he could immediately answer it without waking his parents. That morning when it sounded he arose from his bed changed his clothes and went to the front door to leave for the mosque. it at that moment when he opened the door to leave that fear struck his heart. It was very dark outside. Suddenly our young boy spotted an elderly man walking past the house and the boy knew that he could follow him at a distance and feel safe. thus he followed him to the mosque prayed fajr and then came home before his family awoke.

That day at school our young boy proudly raised his hand when the teacher asked, ‘Who prayed fajr today”

So this became our young boys habit and method of making his fajr salah. he would even sleep earlier so he could feel rested in the morning. Likewise his parents noticed his changed in behaviour but never knew he modified his behaviour to make his fajr . They thought something was wrong with him (ill).

Eventually his mother thought too much of these changes and began to investigate, she found his alarm clock and removed it hoping to restore a longer sleeping partern. That night our young soldier had to stay awake the whole night as he feared he would not awake and miss the pray. At pray time he went to the door to await the old man he followed but alas he did not come. It saddened the boy but he knew that tomorrow he will go to the masjid and pray fajr. Again the next morning our young fighter arose from his bed and went to the door once again the old man did not pass.” Insha’allah I will pray tomorrow ” he said with even more resolve.

That night after school and before putting himself to sleep our young mujahid over heard his mother and father talking about ” the old man who died a few houses away” Immediately the tears flowed into our young sons heart and he ran screaming and wailing into his room. astonished his father ran in after him to see what was wrong. ” My son what happened!”

Tear eyed sobbing and pointing at his father he sceamed “I wish that it had been you who died and not that man!, he prayed fajr and I followed him to the mosque while you slept in your bed” Who will take me now!!!

As one can imagine these words had an impact on the very soul of his father and well eventually things changed in that house, the prayers were always performed , no more pop music, and the love of Allah and his Prophet (SAWS) governed everything this family did together and independently.

I hope this story provides some enlightenment for those who read and perhaps a lesson or two to pass on to someone else

This story was originally narrated by by Raja an Nasr al Qahtan, Riyadh Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, April 2005