Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) - 52: Spending Hours In Night Worship
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals
Arab News & Information - Shaikh Muhammad Al-Ghazali
THE Prophet (peace be upon him) prepared to receive
every new day by engaging in worship in which he was
keen that everyone in his household should join. Thus,
it is a day that turns our familiar pattern upside
down. It gives a different arrangement of priorities,
looking at life from a new angle. It is as he
expressed: people who are well dressed in this life
may find themselves naked in the life to come, and a
humble person here may be a king there. Yet, that is
the true life and everyone should be prepared for it.
After spending much of the night in prayer and
worship, the Prophet might go to sleep again, but his
heart, full of faith, was always alert. When he turned
in bed, or rose again, he would say: "All praise is
due to You, my Lord. You are the light of the heavens
and the earth and all between. Praise be to You, You
are the one in control of the heavens and the earth
and all between. Praise be to You, You are the Lord of
the heavens and the earth and all between. To you
belongs all praise. You are the truth: Your promise is
true; what You say is true; the meeting with You is
true; heaven is true; hell is true; all prophets are
true; Muhammad is true; the Hour of Judgment is true.
My Lord, to You I submit myself; in You I believe; on
You I rely; to You I turn; by Your guidance I dispute;
to You I submit for judgment. Forgive me what I have
done and what I may do, what I hold in secret and what
I do in public. You are my Lord; there is no deity
other than You."
The Prophet always recommended his followers to start
the night with a clean body. He used to say: "Purify
your bodies; may God purify you. Anyone who goes to
bed having had ablutions will have an angel stopping
with him, praying God to forgive him as he started the
night with purification." Needless to say, physical
purification is no substitute for spiritual purity.
However, we are helped to have a good night when we go
to bed remembering God and glorifying Him.
The Prophet said to his daughter Fatimah and her
husband Ali: "When you go to bed, say ‘Allah-u Akbar'
(God is Supreme) 33 times, ‘Subhan Allah' (Glory be to
God) 33 times and ‘Al-Hamd lillah' 33 times." In one
report the glorification is required 34 times to
complete 100. Ali said that he never omitted to say
them ever since, not even on the night of the Battle
of Siffin. This means that Ali did as the Prophet
recommended for over 30 years, including the hardest
day in his life when he had to fight against fellow
Muslims. Perhaps we should add that Ali had a life
full of worries that left him little relaxation.
Perhaps he only felt truly rested when he left this
life to meet God. Yet such worries and problems did
not cause him to forget to glorify God and praise Him
before sleep. Perhaps he found such glorification of
immense help in facing his problems.
Stressing the importance of maintaining purity of body
and soul as we start the night, the Prophet is quoted
as saying: "Whoever goes to bed having performed his
ablutions and glorifies God until he is overtaken by
sleep, God will give him whatever he requests of the
goodness of this life and the life to come which he
asks Him as he turns in his bed." Thus Islam
establishes a pattern of permanent relation between
man and God that comes alive at every moment of day
and night. Only when we are asleep we are oblivious of
it, but we remain keenly aware of it throughout our
waking hours. That relation ensures a relaxed and
happy feeling which we experience all the time. This
is the fruit of faith that combines conviction with
action.
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