How can I Take "him" Down?!!

Peace be onto you all!

I hope you all are in the best state of health and Iman. :)

In my previous two articles, "You Are Chosen" and "Time to take him Down" I tried my best to emphasize on the abundant treasures at the time of Fajr.. Apart from the rewards I had mentioned, there's still a lot more that's known only to Allah! What I had mentioned was only a glimpse of the actual treasure-trove!

Keeping the streak going, this article includes some tips that is easy to follow cause I've tried it myself and it has helped me in a great way and hopefully In sha Allah we have the lights on during the last part of the night... ;)

But before I reveal those tips, there's a question from my side.. 

If there is someone or something you dislike, and it totally annoys you, distracts you all time.. What exactly would you do to them..? If it's a thing, like your alarm clock with an annoying tone, you might break it into zillion pieces or if it's a person, you might just want to pull their hair off! (Under no circumstances I encourage it!!!)

What if we replace that something or someone with the Shaytaan? Like I said in my previous article, the reason behind our every not-so-good deed is Shaytaan.. He is definately someone I hate the most! He annoys me terribly especially when I make the intention to do wudhu and distracts me completely when I'm about to begin Salah.. If only we knew the troubles caused by Shaytaan, we would wana kick the day lights out of him!! And guess what??? We can!!!

Every time we give the Adhaan or read the Quran, he is destroyed!! It literally burns him! It's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than wacking him with a cricket bat! :P

So starting with the first tip :

1 - Remember Allah as soon as you wake up

Recite the morning dua. Or start reciting the Adhaan in your mind. This would definately drive the negative thoughts (whisperings of Shaytaan) away and it will be easier to literally part with your bed! :P

2 - Keep Reminding yourself of it's Benefits

You can also remind yourself of how fortunate you are that Allah chose you among 6 billion people to worship Him and to let your stress and tensions out because Allah wants to relieve you of it!! Allah Himself is has called out to you.. how on earth can we ignore his call? You know what happens when you miss your mom's call! It's not even deliberate!! And yet there's a 3 hour long discussion on what made you "ignore" the call. -_- 

Anyway, you can remind yourself of it before going to bed and after waking up. :)

3 - Have a glass of water

Have a glass of water before bed. It will keep your body hydrated. An unhydrated body makes you feel sluggish and eventually makes it harder for you to wake up.

4 - Keep the alarm away

 The hardest part in waking up is parting with your bed and the super comfy blanky. Here's a tip. Keep the alarm away from your reach (I suggest the bathroom! :P) This will force you to leave the bed as soon as possible. And then the rest is easy. :)

5 - Be your own alarm clock

Subhan Allah it so happens with me.. Sometimes when I hit the bed late (I don't recommend it at all!) and there's just 3-4 hours left for Fajr, I find myself awake even before the alarm rings.. Tell yourself you’re going to get up by a certain time, often your body will wake you up naturally. Say you need to get up at 5:00 a.m, set your alarm clock for 5:15 a.m. (Just in case!) You may be surprised to find that you wake up right on time, give or take a few minutes. 

6 - Spiritual tips

This is to prepare yourself just like your preparation before a football match (You just can't start playing without warming yourself!!). Same way, prep for Fajr starts the night before.. 

#Pray Witr and supplicate to Allah Azzwa jal to help you wake up for Fajr. 

#End your day with some verses from the Quran. Know that Rasullulah (SAWS) recommended us to recite Surah Mulk and Surah Sajdah before bed. 

#Make Wudhu before you sleep. For if we are in the state of wudhu while we're asleep, every turn we make, an Angel asks to Allah to forgive us because we went to bed in a state of purity.. Subhan Allah!! 

7 - Remember Allah before you sleep

We do have control over ourselves but Allah has authority over us.. So ask Allah to help you wake up for Fajr rather than blaming the snooze-er. When you have His help, you don't need any alarm clock!!

May Allah make it easy for all of us to wake up for Fajr and utilize this amazing opportunity to relieve ourselves from the wordly stress and make us one among the successful people in this life and the Hereafter. Ameen. :)

Before I end, there's a lil request to all my readers.. 

Please take a minute to pray for all our Muslim brothers and sisters who're going through the worst situations possible.. There are children crying, dying of hunger while we sleep on full stomachs.. The ice-cold weather freezing their limbs and hitting their bones while we rest under our blankets with a roof over our head and four walls to protect us.. Mothers wailing and shedding tears over their children suffering every minute of their lives.. Fathers burying their children by turning their hearts into stone.. 

Our brothers and sisters in Islam are in need of our prayers.. 

We may not need the latest iPhone as much as they need warm clothes, proper food and hygienic water to drink..

May Allah grant our Muslim brothers and sisters with patience and strength through this extremely tough phase and reward their struggle with Jannah! May Allah reunite the parents with their children in a much better and enduring world! May Allah protect them all and lastly.. May Allah accept all our duas. Ameen..

As Salam Alykum

Time to Take "him" Down!!

Peace be on to you all! :)

It's about time we take "him" down.. It's about time we establish control on our lives.. It's about time we set our priorities right.. No I'm not talking about taking a government down! (Chill!! :P)

I'm talking about our common enemy. The one we all need to stand up against and defeat. (Yes! You know him!) The evil Shaytaan. It's time we take the Shaytaan down! I thought of mentioning him quite later but like I said It's about time we start realizing his role in our lives. In simple words, every time we procrastinate, every good deed we do, every good intention of ours that seems to fade away for some silly reason, every time we keep postponing our duties towards our Creator (the obligatory prayers being first in that list...) and in every step we take to get closer to Allah, IF we hear thoughts and voices speaking of negativity then it's from the Shaytaan. We need to rise above that and establish our control on our lives rather than following the voices of the evil. 

And for those of us who think Shaytaan is imaginary, he is out there.. He is closer to us than we can imagine and he is affecting us big time! Sadly, many of us don't realize this happening because we're just too engrossed setting things right in this temporary world. 

But why do I start talking about Shaytaan all of a sudden? That's because his role in our life cannot be disregarded. He does not leave a chance for us to communicate with Allah especially when Allah is the Caller here.. 

The reason we find it difficult to wake up for Fajr is not our laziness or the bitter cold or the extremely early timing. It's Shaytaan. That doesn't mean we aren't at fault at all. Our biggest mistake is going along the lines of the evil. To rectify this mistake, we need to know what Shaytaan actually does that it becomes nearly impossible for us to wake up and converse with Allah..

It's said in a Hadith by Rasullulah (SAWS) :

"Satan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot, he reads and exhales the following words, 'The night is long, so stay asleep.' When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot is undone, and when one prays, the third knot is undone and one gets up energetic with a good heart in the morning; otherwise one gets up lazy and with a mischievous heart."

(Authenticity : Saheeh Bukhari)

I think after reading the above Hadith, there is no room for questions or doubts. Clearly, waking up for Fajr and starting our day with the remembrance of Allah is the BEST start to ANY day! This doesn't ensure you have a day filled with only happiness or a day where your boss won't yell at you or a day when your teacher embarrasses you or a day your mom loads you with extra chores or a day your siblings literally kill you (no I'm just being funny :P). This ensures you have the power to deal with anything the day has in store for you! This ensures no matter what happens, you have the blessings of the Almighty and when one has the blessings and love of his Creator, what more can they ask for...?

So remember. As soon as you wake up:

1 - Remember Allah. 

2 - Perform wudhu.

3 - Start your prayer.

With this I come to the end in dealing with the reason behind our negligence to the call of Allah. 

Coming up next are some easy-to-follow tips to wake up for Fajr that I myself follow and it has benefitted me in a great way, Alhamdullilah.

As Salam Alykum