muslimah: a guide

fajr prayer

بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم

 :السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ 

P   R   E   L   U   D   E

so, fajr.

honestly speaking, fajr is still a struggle for me. i went through a time where i wasn't exactly the best with my prayer. i worked through it, and now i find myself stuck in that rut again. the call to adhan pierces through my sleep, but yet i find myself losing in the fight against my selfish nafs and shay'taan.

i know the tremendous reward, and i also know it is not a struggle for the humble believers, but somehow, i still lose that fight somedays. when Allah (swt) talks about the mindset of the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and how they acknowledge the truth but deny the deen, i can't help but feel the disappointment and regret in myself.

yes, i acknowledge the supreme might of Allah (swt). yes, i believe in the Holy Qu'ran, and yes, i believe in the commands made obligatory on us. but how come i rush to prayer when things are going wrong, but i abandon my steadfastness when things go right? why do i pray and ask my Lord only when i am struggling, not when i am content? 

i continue in this cycle, and many of us are like this. 

so, yes, fajr. the opening chapter to a guide i hope will help me and others. 

let's break it down.

W  H  A  T     I S     F  A  J  R?

Fajr is the first, and earliest, of the five obligatory prayers Muslims are to observe. It consists of two rak'ats, and is preformed in the early hours of the morning, hence it's name, which means dawn in the Arabic language. Two rak'ats of Sunnah are also recommended before Fajr prayer, as Ai'sha (ra) reported, the Prophet never missed four rak'ats before Duhr, and two before Fajr. We'll get into the benefits and rewards later on, inshAllah.

The importance of Fajr prayer is mentioned several times by Prophet Muhammad (sa), the most resounding (personally) being:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ سُمَىٍّ، مَوْلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَال: ‏

‏ لَوْ يَعْلَمُ النَّاسُ مَا فِي النِّدَاءِ وَالصَّفِّ الأَوَّلِ، ثُمَّ لَمْ يَجِدُوا إِلاَّ أَنْ يَسْتَهِمُوا عَلَيْهِ لاَسْتَهَمُوا، وَلَوْ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا فِي التَّهْجِيرِ لاَسْتَبَقُوا إِلَيْهِ، وَلَوْ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا فِي الْعَتَمَةِ وَالصُّبْحِ لأَتَوْهُمَا وَلَوْ حَبْوًا ‏‏.‏

Allah's Apostle said, "If the people knew the reward for pronouncing the Adhan and for standing in the first row (in congregational prayers) and found no other way to get that except by drawing lots they would draw lots, and if they knew the reward of the Zuhr prayer (in the early moments of its stated time) they would race for it (go early) and if they knew the reward of 'Isha' and Fajr (morning) prayers in congregation, they would come to offer them even if they had to crawl."