Importance of Fajr

Anum Kazi writes:

[Start your day off right!]

Assalamalaikum y’all!
I hope you’re having an amazing weekend! I love the weekend because it’s the perfect time to relax and sleep in but sometimes in our laziness, we forget about Fajr. Praying five times a day is one of the five pillars of Islam and Fajr is the first prayer of the day that is read before sunrise. On weekdays, Fajr doesn’t seem to be a problem because most of us get up early for work and school. However, the weekend is a different story because most of us are tired and want to sleep in and sometimes, we just forget. Knowing that it is the weekend, I’ve found a few hadith on the importance of Fajr to inspire us all to wake up early in the morning. You know the saying — “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”, well the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had his own sayings.
Jundub ibn Abdullah (may God be pleased with him) reported the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saying, “He who performs the Fajr prayer will be under the protection of Allah. So beware, O son or daughter of Adam, that Allah does not call you to account for being absent from His protection for any reason.” (Muslim)
What better way to start your day than with the protection of Allah? If everyone realized that praying Fajr ensures safety, I think everyone will start to pray. His warning about not praying literally gave me goosebumps and made me glad that my parents put me in the habit of praying all five daily prayers.

The Prophet was also reported saying that “Whoever performs the prayer before the rising of the sun (Fajr) and the prayer before its setting (Asr) will not enter Hell.” (Muslim).
If you need more reasons to wake up from Fajr, keep reading, because these two sound perfect to me!

The Prophet Muhamamd (peace be upon him) also said that “The two Sunnah cycles of prayer preceding Fajr prayer are better than this world and all that it contains.” (Tirmidhi)
Waking up for Fajr can be hard enough, but just reading two Sunnah prayers right before can make a world of difference. This literally takes less than five minutes so why don’t we all make it a goal to wake up for Fajr every day, especially weekends?
Waking up for Fajr doesn’t only have spiritual benefits but physical ones too. It is a known fact that waking up early is good for the body and the basis for a productive day. People say that an hour of meditation helps keep you calm and motivated, but what they don’t realize is that Islam has built in meditation all throughout the day. Our five daily prayers are a form of meditating. They constantly remind you of Allah and bring barakah (blessings) into your life as well as noor (light) in your heart.
Tomorrow may be Sunday fun day but let’s make it better by waking up for Fajr! Don’t forget to track your progress with the #SunnahChallenge!
Anum Kazi
Twitter — AnummmK