The Fajr Deception

By Umar Al Mujahid Abdur Rasheed Formerly Anthony Navarro

As I stand outside the masjid having just finished praying the Fajr prayer, I cant help but notice the similarities between the Fajr and Isha prayers. Isha is the night prayer and is supposed to be prayed when the sun sets and darkness takes over. Fajr is meant to be the dawn prayer, prayed when the sun is set to rise. So why have I just finished praying Fajr in the masjid, only to walk home and see nothing but darkness and stars in the sky? Clearly something is terribly wrong here.

We can see that the dawn prayer is meant for the break of dawn when there is some light visible on the horizon. Today, every masjid and nearly all Muslims have watches and clocks which tell modern time, but how did they tell time in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)? Definitely not with wrist watches, I bet. The Scholars of Islam have even gone so far as to calculate when the exact times for each prayer will be, everyday for every month. This to me is a huge bidah (something invented that wasnt brought by the Prophet or Allah). Allah tells us time and time again in the Quran that in the Prophet Muhammad, we have the best example. Shouldnt that mean that everything he did was the best way we could possibly do it? 2

Allah tells us in the Quran that the sun has a perfect daily cycle to follow for prayer and this is what the Prophet used, so why have we started using modern clocks which can be set at wrong times, whose batteries can die and which can break? I think todays Muslims are missing the importance of following the sun for prayer times.

Some Ahadith about the time of Fajr: (Taken from Bukhari and Muslim Book of Times of Salaah)

1- Abu Barza said, "The Prophet used to offer the Fajr (prayer) when one could recognize the person sitting by him (after the prayer due to sun light) and he used to recite between 60 to 100 Ayat (verses) of the Qur'an. (Bukhari) So there had to have been some light in order for him to see someone sitting by him. Clearly if it were still dark outside like around Isha time, in the desert, 1400 years ago with no artificial light source, then he would not have been able to recognize anyone near him.

2- Narrated Hafsa: When the Muadh-dhin pronounced the Adhan for Fajr prayer and the dawn became evident the Prophet ordered a two Rakah light prayer (Sunnah) before the Iqama of the compulsory (congregational) prayer. (Bukhari)

The Muadh-dhin called the Adhan when the dawn became clear . How does the dawn become clear? When the light hits the horizon and becomes visible.

3- Sulaiman b. Buraida narrated it on the authority of his father that a person asked the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) about the time of prayer. Upon this he said: Pray with us these two, (meaning two days). When the sun passed the meridian he gave command to Bilal who uttered the call to prayer. Then he commanded him and pronounced Iqama for noon prayer (Then at the time of the afternoon prayer) he again commanded and Iqama for the afternoon prayer was pronounced when the sun was high, white and clear. He then commanded and Iqama for the evening prayer was pronounced, when the sun had set. He then commanded him and the Iqama for the night prayer was pronounced when the twilight had disappeared. He then commanded him and the Iqama for

the Morning Prayer was pronounced, when the dawn had appeared.
When it was the next day, he commanded him to delay the noon prayer till the extreme heat had passed and he did so, and he allowed it to be delayed till the extreme heat had passed. He observed the afternoon 4

prayer when the sun was high; delaying it beyond the time he had previously observed it. He observed the evening prayer before the twilight had vanished; he observed the night prayer when a third of the night had passed; and he observed the dawn prayer when there was clear

daylight. He (the Holy Prophet) then said: Where is the man who
inquired about the time of prayer? He (the inquirer) said: Messenger of Allah I here I am. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The time for your prayer is within the limits of what you have seen. (Bukhari) Here the Prophet is showing a man each prayer and the range in which we are allowed to pray them in. He prayed Fajr the first day when the break of dawn had just appeared (meaning the light of dawn had just touched the horizon and became visible). The second day he prayed Fajr when it was clear day light. This was the range of Fajr to the Prophet, not in complete darkness.

4- Abu Huraira reported that when the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) returned from the expedition to Khaibar, he travelled one night, and stopped for rest when he became sleepy. He told Bilal to remain on guard during the night and he (Bilal) prayed as much as he could, while the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and his Companions slept. When the time for dawn approached Bilal leaned

against his camel facing the direction from which the dawn would appear
but he was overcome by sleep while he was leaning against his camel, and neither the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) nor Bilal, nor anyone else among his Companions got up, till the sun shone on them. 5

Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon him) was the first of them to awake and, being startled, he called to Bilal who said: Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be offered as ransom for thee, the same thing overpowered me which overpowered you. He (the Holy Prophet, then) said: Lead the beasts on: so they led their camels to some distance. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) then performed ablution and gave orders to Bilal who pronounced the Iqama and then led them in the Morning Prayer. When he finished the prayer he said: When anyone forgets the prayer, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said: "And observe the prayer for remembrance of Me" (Qur'an. xx. 14). (Muslim) This Hadith proves that Bilal would not call the Adhan until the dawn had appeared. He would sit and wait for the light of dawn to become visible. Today, we sit and wait for the hands of the clock to strike certain times rather than the sun which has a perfect daily cycle.

5- Hafsa reported: When the dawn appeared , the Apostle of Allah (May peace be upon him) observed two rak'ahs (of Sunnah prayers). (Muslim) Another Hadith that proves that the dawn had to appear before the Prophet even observed his two Sunnah rakah before the Fajr prayer.

6- 'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), said that between the time when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) finished the 'Isha' prayer which is called 'Atama by the people, he used to pray eleven rak'ahs, uttering the salutation at the end of every two rak'ahs, and observing the Witr with a single one. And when the

Mu'adhdhin had finished the call (for the) dawn prayer and he saw the dawn clearly and the Mu'adhdhin had come to him, he stood up and
prayed two short rak'ahs. Then he lay down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin came to him for lqama. (Muslim)

Dawn was clear when the Adhan was called. Today our entire Fajr salaah is finished and were back home by the time the dawn is clear.

7- Ibn 'Abbas reported : I spent one night in the house of my mother's sister Maimuna, daughter of Harith, and said to her: Awake me when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stands to pray (at night). (She woke me up when) the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) stood up for prayer. I stood on his left side. He took hold of my hand and made me stand on his right side, and whenever I dozed off he took hold of my earlobe (and made me alert). He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) observed eleven rak'ahs. He then sat with his legs drawn and wrapped in his garment and slept so that I could bear his breathing

while asleep. And when the dawn appeared, he observed two short

rak'ahs of (Sunnah) prayer. (Muslim)

Yet another Hadith that states that when the

dawn appeared the Prophet got up and started

his Sunnah prayers before his Fajr prayer.

We have five prayers everyday and we were told by Allah and the Prophet to use the sun to figure out when each prayer comes in. Duhr (the noon prayer) is when the sun is directly above our heads. Asr (the midday prayer) is when a shadow becomes twice the length of the object. Maghrib (the sunset prayer) is prayed when the sun is in its decline. Isha (the night prayer) is when darkness overtakes. Now if we were the Prophet Muhammad or any one of his companions, in the desert, 1400 years ago with no clocks, watches or cell phones how would we know to pray Fajr (the Morning Prayer)? We would have to wait to see the light at the horizon. So why are our Fajrs finished before the light even touches the horizon?.... Because we have been mislead and are too ignorant to think for ourselves so we allow the Ulimah to do it for us.

In the time of the Prophet there were no such things as clocks and watches; they relied solely on the sun. Why have we abandoned that which is accurate for that which can be inaccurate and wrong? Is it because the Islamic Scholars of the world have told us that this is when we are to pray Fajr and we have all just blindly followed without paying any attention to Ahadith like these? I have had debates about this same topic with many a Sheikh, Imams, Scholars, etc And when I bring up Quran and Ahadith all I get back as a response is the Ulimah all agree that this is when Fajr is. Im sorry, but when did the Ulimah start making the rules over Allah and the Prophet? We are supposed to obey Allah first, then the Prophet and then the Sheikhs and Scholars. its Unfortunately backwards. today

The Sheikhs and

Scholars get our attention first, THEN the Ahadith of the Prophet and sometimes Allahs words in the Quran never even get mentioned. Sounds like we have taken our Sheikhs, Imams and Scholars as our Gods. Astaghfirlah!!! May Allah forgive us for our ignorance, ameen.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon him) as saying: The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the night 9

prayer and the morning prayer. If they were to know the blessings they have in store, they would have come to them, even though crawling.

Why is the Morning Prayer one of the most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites? And also, why did Allah create and entire chapter in the Quran speaking about the punishment for the hypocrites called none other than Suratul Fajr? Not because they cant or dont wake up to pray it. because they dont pray it at its proper time and have relied solely on others to tell them about what Allah commands us and what the Prophet has taught us. Its as if we dont trust in the intelligence that Allah has given us and we blindly follow those who claim to have more knowledge than us.

On the Day of Judgment our prayer will be the first thing we are questioned about and if our prayers are not correct then no good deeds will be accepted after. Are we really that confident that were praying Fajr at its proper time? Can you imagine standing in front of Allah and having Him tell you that you prayed too early and that you have never prayed a Fajr salaah in your life? What will you do then? Blame the Ulimah, Sheikhs and Scholars when Allah gave each and every one of 10

us the Quran and Ahadith telling us when the proper time is? You will not be able to put the blame on anyone but yourself for being too lazy and ignorant to think for yourself. May Allah protect us from this and guide us to the true way of life that was brought down to His Messenger Muhammad and protect us from the ones who change Allahs way of life for their own benefit, ameen.

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