As Salaamu 'alaykum and peace to all,
The Story of the Three Knots - A Motivational Story of the Secret to a Bubbly and Productive Day
‘Salaam sis…’ an online chat box pop-up suddenly on my computer screen
‘Salaam ..’ I replied with a smilie
‘Never expected to see you here. It must be very early at your place’
‘Yeah, you are right. It’s 3 am over here. I just woke up’
‘I remembered you telling me that you always wake up early. Lucky you, I wish I can wake up at 3am! I am struggling even for my Fajr prayer…you know…’ my dearest friend confessed
Sure I know my dearest sis…
There was one survey done on Fajr prayer IslamWay.com (the Arabic section), an Islamic website that included more than 4000 persons. The result is as follows:
14% of them never pray Fajr in its time
16% of them rarely pray Fajr in its time
33% of them often pray Fajr in its time
35% of them always pray Fajr in its time
Seems like waking up early is a struggle for many of us, right?
Because of that, I have written a story about it in my motivational book Life is an Open Secret. In the Story of a Housewife and a Package of Sugar, I shared the stories, verses from Holy Quran and hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), quotes from wise people and proverbs of waking up early and how it is linked to our success in this world and hereafter too, inshaAllah.
I know the ‘mind-war’ we have every time we try to leave the comfort of our beds, the softness of our spine-supporting mattresses, the coziness under those thick warm blankets, the warmth of our socks, the fluffiness of our pillows and at times the hugging of our bolsters.
And it will just get worse if we suddenly hear the soothing sound of the rain outside, or the echoing sound of winter wind blowing, or when we peeped out the window and saw the blanket of freezing cold white snow, brrrr…
I remembered a funny quote mentioned by Jim Davies years back. He said,
If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters
Visualizing that made my day!
I kinda love the idea of me sleeping in a toaster and being thrown out of it when the time to wake up comes. It sure would be helpful!
Imagine if we can pop out like that instead of the gentle knocks of love our parents or roomies relentlessly make every morning, or a tap on our shoulders by our spouses, or the musical ringing tone from our mobile, or the annoying bell sound of our alarm clock.
But you know what?
Our beloved Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) has given us a fantastic motivation of why we should wake up early.
He has given us 1429 years ago, an internal timer that would actually make us ‘pop up’ from our bed. No need to sleep in a toaster, I promise, inshaAllaah.
It is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
"During your sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your Decks. He breathes the following into them, 'The night is long so keep on sleeping.' If the person wakes and praises Allah, then one of the knots is unfastened. And if he performs ablution, the second knot is unfastened. When he prays, all of the knots are unfastened. After that he will be energetic and happy in the morning. Otherwise he would get up listless and grouchy."
I realized that in order for me to have a great day ahead, there are these three things I would have to do.
In order for me to be energetic, happy, full of enthusiasm, optimistic, full of life, cheerful, in high spirits, upbeat and lively, the secret is simply to do the three steps!
SubhanAllaah, it sounded so easy, right?
Can I do it? Sure I can – if I want to.
Can you do it? Sure you can – if you want to.
Right?
I want to share with you a comical and witty poem written by a very dear friend of mine, an award winning American Muslimah poet, Sister Heather El Khiyari She has written poems that won international poetry competitions and has gracefully allowed me to share with you a poem she wrote entitled ‘Fajr’.
Satan whispered in my ear today as he often does,
he told me "just stay in bed and let the alarm clock buzz,
the covers are warm while the air is cold."
But I refused and stood up bold.
As I walked toward the bathroom with my eyes squinting,
He said "Go back to bed, who care's for prayers and repenting?"
Bismillah, in the name of Allah I turn the water on,
Making wadu, I think of the reward of praying Fajr before dawn.
Knot number two is now untied,
Satan is losing his strength and pride,
he is whispering again with his last attempt,
"I will see you in my hell, you will not be exempt.
You have sinned and your prayers will not save you.
For, your good deeds are far too few."
I interrupted him, lovingly reciting, Bismillah akrakman naraheem,
In the name of Allah the most gracious, most merciful, most supreme
Al Fatiha, a surah, Ruk'u and then Qauma, Sudjood to show full submission,
Rise and thank, Sudjood again and do over with no omission,
sitting on my ankles to recite At-tashahhud with a humble and open soul,
With tears in my eyes I am submitting fully to Allah's control.
Back on my ankles to ask Allah for blessings on his Prophet and on us,
As Salaam 'alaikum wa rahmatulaah to my right then left, ahhh success.
Three knots now untied,
Inshallah, from Jannah I will not be denied.
(Copyright ©2006 Heather El Khiyari, All rights reserved)
InshaAllaah, from Jannah we will not be denied.
Undo those three knots and InshaAllaah, we will all have a bubbly and productive day ahead!
Isn't that great? :)
Sister Heather is a 25 year old American convert to Islam. She is married to a wonderful Moroccan brother and they have two darling children. She started writing poetry at a young age and has continued to do so through the years. Although it took a while for her poetry to convert to Islam and catch up with her she is now finally caught up all together, Subhanllah. She now spends her days as a house wife caring for her family and writing poetry as inspiration comes its way.
Sis Zabrina
Now blogging at http://www.wisdomthruwords.blogspot.com
Copyright © Sis Zabrina 2008
Sis Zabrina,
Life Storyteller,
Author, Life is an Open Secret - 18 Inspirational Stories from Ordinary life experiences
~Life Storyteller Blog: Your Source for Islamic Motivational and Inspirational Stories~
Tag: motivational stories, islamic stories, inspirational stories, spiritual stories, storyteller, muslim, islam, life is an open secret, motivational book, motivational quotes, short stories,
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