Fajr Is a Daily Test

Shaykh Bali says: Shaytan ties three knots at the back of the neck of a sleeping person. The Prophet ﷺ has also told us how to undo those knots.

How the Question Comes

A neighbourhood of five hundred people. You go to the Fajr congregation and find that not even fifty are there. The question was put before the Shaykh: was it like this even in the time of the Prophet ﷺ?

The Shaykh said: No. Back then the Fajr congregation was just like Dhuhr and Asr; the mosque would be full, because people knew the value of the prayer.

Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: If we did not find someone at Fajr or Isha, we would begin to doubt him.

The Shaykh says that these two prayer times are the measure of all the other prayers. The test here is whom you choose in the sweetest hour of sleep.

The Shaykh's Answer

When you sleep, Shaytan ties three knots at the back of your neck. One is undone by dhikr, two by wudu, and all three by salah.

The Prophet ﷺ said that then he starts the morning energetic and cheerful in spirit; otherwise he gets up gloomy and lazy. The Shaykh says: this is exactly why a person who does not pray Fajr is restless all day.

He says that if you hold firmly to Fajr and Asr, the remaining prayers stay preserved on their own; because one is prayed at the time of people's sleep, and the other at the time of people's heedlessness.

Evidence: Shaytan's Three Knots

يَعْقِدُ الشَّيْطَانُ عَلَى قَافِيَةِ رَأْسِ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا هُوَ نَامَ ثَلَاثَ عُقَدٍ… فَإِنِ اسْتَيْقَظَ فَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ انْحَلَّتْ عُقْدَةٌ، فَإِنْ تَوَضَّأَ انْحَلَّتْ عُقْدَةٌ، فَإِنْ صَلَّى انْحَلَّتْ عُقَدُهُ كُلُّهَا

When any of you sleeps, Shaytan ties three knots at the back of his neck… If he wakes and makes dhikr of Allah, one knot is undone; if he makes wudu, another; if he prays salah, all of them. (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)Copy

The Prophet ﷺ also said: Give glad tidings to those who walk to the mosques in the darkness, of perfect light on the Day of Resurrection. (Sunan Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi, hasan chain)

What to Do

1. Make dua asking for the ability to pray Fajr: “O my Lord, help me to protect my Fajr.”
2. Go to sleep right after Isha; if you sleep late, it becomes hard to wake up for Fajr.
3. Set an alarm before Fajr, leaving yourself time for wudu and preparation.
4. Make wudu before sleeping, recite the adhkar for sleep, and say Subhanallah 33 times · Alhamdulillah 33 times · Allahu Akbar 34 times.

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Source: Based on the talk of Shaykh Waheed Abdussalam Bali

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center