By: Musa Sach Adam
Source: HDMS Blog
Many of us, if not all of us only have 24 hours in a day to get everything done, before the wheels are in motion once again. In our day the most important task is to pray the 5 daily obligatory prayers within their prescribed time and fit all else that we have to do around these 5 times. Here are some tips in order to make it easy by the permission and grace of Allah (subhana’wata’ala)
* Have a set routine of getting one’s night sleep regularly and try and get an amount of sleep as prescribed in this article (if not a night shift worker of course – and if this is the case you have to come up with a plan that suits your individual circumstances)
* Know when the sunrise time is the next day where you are residing, and wake up at least 30-45 minutes before sunrise time if you struggle to wake up at fajr adhan time or before that – as waking up a bit before sunrise will allow you to go to the bathroom and then do one’s ablution (minor: wudhu or major: ghusl) as required and then complete the 2-rakat (units) prayer before time expires. And then slowly start to work yourself up to waking up at fajr adhan time (if you currently do not pray fajr on time, and oversleep) and inshaAllah work towards waking up 30 minutes before fajr adhan time so that you can pray the optional yet highly rewarding tahajjud prayer. But if you currently do not wake up for fajr on time, your main goal is to work on praying the 2-rakat of Fajr at least as a bare minimal a few minutes before sunrise time – although it is better to not leave to it to the last minute before sunrise time, but this is better than not praying it at all
* Know when the Isha adhan time is so that you can pray shortly after it, and go straight to sleep. Try one’s best to get a minimal of 4.5 to 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep for those who wake up about 30 minutes before Fajr adhan time for tahajjud prayer, but ideally try and get about 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep non-stop without interruption, so that you will not need to sleep again after praying fajr prayer. As a general guide for Sydneysiders who struggle to wake up for Fajr and currently do not do so, try and get in the routine of going to sleep by about 10:15pm and wake up at 4:45am so that you get your 6.5 hours of sleep and so that it guarantees inshaAllah that you will not miss praying the fajr prayer before sunrise time (in summer especially) and you would have also prayed your 4-rakat Isha in the night when following this formula. When it’s winter time it’s a bit more flexible time-wise so one has to decide when one will sleep and wake up so that 6.5 hours of sleep is taken care of every night
* After one prays their Maghrib (post-sunset) prayer, try and wrap-up things (using technology, family/kids matters, study, work, other) so that one can go to sleep right after praying the Isha prayer and is not distracted by things to do late at night. And if one (male) attends a masjid or musalah for Isha prayers in congregation, after completion of it go straight home instead of socialising for hours on end, and it effecting one’s night sleep. Many have done this (socializing after Isha) and sadly missed waking up for fajr on time
* Know one’s daily prayer “cut-off” times for where you reside (via a website like: http://www.islamicfinder.org or Athan [Azan] software/apps that are available for one’s laptop/PC and smartphone), so that you can always catch the Duhur (afternoon), Asr (evening), Maghrib (post-sunset) prayers on time and before they expire, while at work or uni or traveling back home. If it helps you to get into the routine, have a set time period every 2 weeks where you can tell your work colleague or academic/university colleagues or non-muslim family that you need some time-out for about 15-20 minutes where you need to pray your daily prayers in a calm and relaxed manner at this/this/this time (eg: “Jane [mangers’ name], for the next two weeks, I need some time off from 12:45pm-1:00pm and 4:15pm-4:30pm and 7:15pm-7:30pm, much appreciated”)
* If you have left your fard prayer until 30 minutes before the time is about to expire for some reason, try one’s best to immediately go and perform the prayer – as you never know what things might come up last minute that will hinder you more. Try not to leave the prayer 15, 10, 5 minutes before the time expires and take such a risk
* If one is having trouble sleeping in the night, a way to reset your internal body clock is to get some sunlight for about 20-30 minutes in the time gap of about 15 minutes after sunrise-time until about 15 minutes before Duhur adhan time (eg: For Sydney in the month of November 2012, that ‘gap’ would be from 6:10am to 12:25pm). This 20-30 minutes of sunlight is said to help reset the body clock back to normal patterns and assist to achieve night sleep. And remember that how one feels in the daytime is a result of not last nights sleep but infact is a result of the quality of sleep you got 2 nights ago, as there is a delayed on-set of when you will see the true results of a good night’s sleep. So for example if you reset the body clock by getting some sunlight from 9:30am-10:00am on Tuesday and you sleep well on Tuesday night, you may still feel lethargic on Wednesday during the daytime as you are feeling the effects of lack of sleep on Monday night, so be patient and persistent in consistently getting some sunlight daily before Duhur adhan time, and remember that if it is a cloudy and overcast day you will need to spend about 30-40 minutes instead of 20-30 minutes. If one is having major insomnia issues it is recommended to immediately see a medical professional to seek the proper treatment
* Keep trying over and over and over until you get into the routine and habit and dont give up. Try your best and give a genuine effort and inshaAllah things will workout. And also dont be affraid or shy to ask advice and hints and tips from others who mashaAllah currently successfully wake up for fajr on time. It’s always good to have a mentor to help and assist than doing things on your own and having to re-invent the wheel (so to say)
Disclaimer: The advice given is not in anyway a replacement for medical advice nor equal to medical advice. If one has health issues please consult a medical professional.
