by Zohra Fatima
Paradise is not attained with laziness, sleep and rest.
It was a common practice of the Sahabah (رضي الله عنهم), Taba’een and Tabe Taba’een to perform Tahajjud regularly out of fear and hope of the rewards.
The pious predecessors were so fearful of the fact that whether they would be granted paradise or not or whether their good deeds would be accepted or not – the way people are so confident of getting admitted into paradise and being saved from the fire of hell these days.
Apparently, we’re the worst of generations and worst is yet to come as we’re already loosing the blessings in time and time is passing so quickly by testifying one of the signs of dooms day.
We all need to hasten ourselves for performing the good deeds, rectify ourselves and our families before death approaches us or the signs starts taking place one by one like a broken necklace of pearls.
“From the signs of Allaah abandoning a servant, is that He busies him with that which does not concern him. Enough as a punishment for sins is that it prevents you from worshipping Allaah, even if you wanted to.” [Ad-Daa’ wa Ad-Dawaa’ P. 87 || Jamee Al-Uloom wal Hikam, 139]
It’s the sins that stops one from worshipping Allaah (ﷻ) even if one desires to worship Him, the cleansing and polishing of the heart is a must everyday, cleansing it with repentance and polishing it with Dhikr or rememberance. The sign of a true repentance is to not go back to the ways one has repented from. So, please repent sincerely and change and stick to that change till your last breath. No one is perfect but one has to keep striving to be a better version of oneself everyday.
“Paradise is not attained with laziness, sleep and rest. Rather, it is attained with working hard in (doing) the righteous actions.” [Al-Allāmah Saalih Al-Fawzaan, كلمات رمضانية 07-09 1437]
The famous 10 companions were promised paradise and were congratulated with the news of paradise in their lives itself, still they sacrificed everything, feared Allaah the most, and worked hard severely by enduring only sufferings and pain.
Paradise is not guaranteed to any of us, then how dare we take it for granted and live in illusion of going into it directly after one’s death and waste one’s time?
Every hour in this temporal world is so precious. No matter how tonnes of good deeds one does, it’ll never be enough for day of judgement.
“Even a person in Sujood from birth to death will be regretful on the Day of Judgement.”
[حدیث صحيح ترغيب ٣/٤٢٤]
TIPS
Sleep early if you’re not able to wake up for Tahajjud, like have your dinner soon after the Maghrib and then try to sleep by 10-11 or atleast 12′ O clock, phone is the biggest distraction, keep it far away and set 5-10 alarms for it, with a gap of every five minutes, and place the phone far away from you, so that when you wake up to turn it off, you have to get up from the place you sleep, that surely wards off the sleepiness.
Do not forget to sleep with Wūdhu, a clean heart, beseeching forgiveness with firm certainity of offering Tahajjud and asking Allaah for help, sleep imagining your grave and busy your tongue with Durood e Ibraahēm, send loads of blessings on our beloved Prophet Mohammed. (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
Also make charts, and stick the Ahadeeth and benefits of Tahajjud near the bed, on the wall and the Ahadeeth of the torments of the grave too! We believers are always in need of reminders.
Tahajjud is too preciously expensive to be missed. It’s the most rewarding Nawafil prayer amongst all the Nawafil prayers, it’s that time when the Lord of the Universe descends down, please defeat the tricks of Shaytaan, if its still not easy for you, then try to wake up at least 30 minutes before Al-Fajr.
May Allaah (ﷻ) grant us Ath-Thabat (firmness), Al-Isteqaamah (steadfastness), grant blessings in our time upon goodness, and make it easy for all of us and accept it.
آمين يارب العالمين!
Narated By Ibn Abbas ؓ , When the Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) got up at night to offer the Tahajjud prayer, he used to say:
Allahumma lakal-hamd. Anta qaiyimus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Walakal-hamd, Laka mulkus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Walakal-hamd, anta nurus-samawati wal-ard. Walakalhamd, anta-l-haq wa wa’duka-l-haq, wa liqa’uka Haq, wa qualuka Haq, wal-jannatu Han wan-naru Haq wannabiyuna Haq. Wa Muhammadun, sallal-lahu’alaihi wasallam, Haq, was-sa’atu Haq. Allahumma aslamtu Laka wabika amantu, wa ‘Alaika tawakkaltu, wa ilaika anabtu wa bika khasamtu, wa ilaika hakamtu faghfir li ma qaddamtu wama akh-khartu wama as-rartu wama’a lantu, anta-l-muqaddim wa anta-l-mu akh-khir, la ilaha illa anta (or la ilaha ghairuka).
(O Allaah! All the praises are for you, You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You have the possession of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth And all the praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth; And all the praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the truth, And to meet You is true, Your Word is the truth And Paradise is true And Hell is true And all the Prophets (ﷺ) are true; And Muhammad ﷺ is true, And the Day of Resurrection is true.
O Allaah ! I surrender (my will) to You; I believe in You and depend on You. And repent to You, And with Your help I argue (with my opponents, the non-believers) And I take You as a judge (to judge between us). Please forgive me my previous And future sins; And whatever I concealed or revealed And You are the One who make (some people) forward And (some) backward. There is none to be worshipped but you. Sufyan said that ‘Abdul Karim Abu Umaiya added to the above, ‘Wala haula Wala quwata illa billah’ (There is neither might nor power except with Allaah) [Sahih Bukhari book 21, Prayer at night (Tahajjud)]
