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| BaKhabar  Download pdf
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| Early
to Rise: How to Win the Blessings of El-Fajr ... By Bela Khan
 The early bird gets the worm— clichéd, but true— so let’s talk about building the habit that can not only change our lives but also change the fate of the entire ummah. That habit is getting up for el-fajr and utilizing the time after it. The irony is that we Muslims love snoozing in the after-fajr hours despite the fact thatour Prophet (saws) deemed that dua for the after-fajr hours would be blessed for us. Not only that, but all the non-Muslim personal development gurus and business tycoons and even some of the richest men on earth religiously practice this rising-early habit. First of all let’s accept the fact that it’s not difficult to be an early-riser; and after reading this article, it’s going to be a thousand times easier, only if Allah wills. How Do You Develop a Habit? Let’s be very clear on this— we’re trying to develop the habit of waking up for el-fajrand reciting from the Quran and then making good use of the after-fajr hours. Allah says: Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur’an of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed. [Quran, 17:78] Say it aloud. Let the atmosphere around you record your affirmation! Remember, even the intention is rewarded. Now, give yourself a 21-day challenge and kick off. Remember, it has to be a consecutive 21 days. If you slip, start it all over again. No worries— better to die trying than to give up. What is your ANCHOR? You can develop habits in two ways: 1). Using the sheer force of will power and forcing yourself to follow a plan. But I suggest you go easy on yourself; the more you beat yourself up the harder it’s going to be. 2). Find out what your anchor is. What actually triggers your habit? For example, when you wake up and go to the washroom and pick up your toothbrush (or miswak), you unconsciously pick up the toothpaste, apply it to the brush, and put the toothbrush in your mouth. You don’t have to think about it or make a decision about it— you just put it there. So what triggers you to wake up? Is it an alarm? Is it the voice of the mua’zzin? Or is it someone throwing a bucket of cold water in your face? If you have to catch a flight at 7:00 a.m. and you sleep even as late as 3:00 a.m., won’t you get up for the flight on time? You definitely will. Why? Because of your underlying fear of missing the flight. So if all the strategies you use to wake up early are failing, you need to fix your trigger. There’s usually some under-lying factor that needs to be addressed. If you can discover what that underlying factor is, it’ll be way easier for you to wake up for el-fajr. For most of us, this factor is fear of Allah (swt) that may result in developing this habit. And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out. [Quran, 65:2] Are You Going Too Fast? Let’s say you want to get up early in the morning, pray el-fajr, recite one juzz, sayadhkaar, go for a walk, do some exercises, eat breakfast, and read a book. How does that sound? Cool? No! Un-cool! Remember: dream big but start small. To develop a habit you must start with something that will hold your attention. It’s better to start with praying al-fajr and reciting five or sis ayah of the Quran (for beginners of course) and then build from there. Remember, Allah (swt) loves deeds that are consistent, even if they’re small. Taking baby steps is better than taking giant leaps that result in a spectacular failure in the middle of the course. What Routine Will You Start With? Let’s say you want to get up, do miswak, pray el-fajr and read five or six ayah from theQuran. What you must do is maintain the order. Maintaining the order is necessary because that’s how this routine gets strengthened in your neural pathways. After practicing it in the same order you won’t have to think over and over again,“what next?” Also, you need to leave the decision-making parts of your brain silent in the morning, and putting yourself on auto-pilot will be much easier if the sequence is maintained. How Will You Reward Yourself? Celebration, appreciation, gratitude, and reward are words that seem to have evaporated from Muslim dictionaries. Remember, the fasting person gets two rewards; one comes when meeting his Lord and the other is arrives on the breaking of the fast. Craving a reward makes building a habit easier. So, what reward are you going to give yourself for offering al-fajr and reciting the Quran? Maybe a healthy breakfast or the privilege of wearing your best clothes or whatever (halal) thing you’ve been craving for a while. If you want, you can buddy up with someone for this task. And don’t forget to share your success story below!  |
Modesty
in Men...
An Overlooked Characteristic From “Beyond Education” collection – Nissar Nadiadwala’s Editorial for Young Muslims  My ex-editor wrote a research story during the infamous Gujarat riots and he interviewed some Gujarati females of Ahmedabad and asked them, "Why do you dislike Muslims so much?" Among the many answers he noted down there was one which struck my attention. "Their men cover their women with burkha but have affairs with our girls! The impact of immodest media and liberal education system has taken a toll on the modesty of many Muslim young men. This has given rise to some very wrong attitudes in their minds towards the modest way of Islamic life and at times also brings a bad name to the community. I was interviewing a young man who was a graduate from an Islamic Madrasa. While reading his bio-data, I realised that he had scored excellently in in Deeniyat but it struck me that he did not have a beard except like a little carpet of harvested grass on a lawn. I asked him the reasons. Here is what he said: ‘Look brother, I am doing post-graduation in a college and there are modern students, besides, my mother is looking for girls for me and if I keep a bit long beard, my proposals may be rejected by girls. So I think I will keep it after my marriage.' This may not be true with every graduate from Madrasa but this young man surely became a victim of this attitude.  Many young men have this fear of being rejected by girls if they wear an Islamic attire of a fistful beard and an ankle length trouser. So they discard their modesty and try to befriend girls. For them good looking girls, who speak smart English and wear Western outfits even behind the veil and hijab, reject a practicing Muslim man. This is not always true. Some young Muslim males who are modest and do not mix with girls in the campus may be taken as backward or orthodox but modesty and hayaa are from Emaan says the sahih hadith of Bukhari. These boys do end up marrying a good practicing Muslimah. This reminds me of my recent Dubai tour when I visited few shops to purchase goods for my family. I spotted Muslim men who were in Islamic attire dealing with the female costumers in a very decent manner. They never looked up at their faces. That was a delightful thing to note. I wonder how delighted Allah would be upon seeing his young worshipers observing modesty! Some exemplary people in our early generation Muslims really displayed excellent modesty, they never feared that women would reject them. Allah gave 11 wives to his bearded Prophet (pbuh) whose modesty resembled a shy newlywed bride. Uthman bin Affan (r.a.) was a modest and a shy man yet he got the privilege of marrying two daughters of the Prophet (pbuh). It was Umar bin Khattab's (r.a.) sense of gheerah and modesty that made him eagerly wait for the Qur'anic verse regarding the wives of the Prophet to be revealed. A Muslim man observes his modesty not only when it comes to the dress of his wife or daughter or sister but also in context with other people’s wives, sisters and daughters. That is what we call a Modest Islamic man..  |
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