3- Deeds of the Prophet peace be upon him between Fajr and Dhuhr Prayer

In a branching research, researchers can apply the rules we set out based on authentic Nobel Sunnah in order to create the Prophet’s daily schedule, by taking into account all the situations and all expectations. Such academic work requires tracking Sunnah texts one after another and benefiting from any possible piece of it, in order to prove the existence of such deeds before; this is what can be called as: historicizing Prophet’s daily life or daily scheduling jurisprudence.         

It is obvious that fundamental research is not aimed at comprehending all the branches, yet at explaining the approach and general fundamentals, therefore, it will focus on providing the latest research obtained as samples up to now, in order to make a general induction of Hadith texts for other tasks.    

The Third Period: Between Fajr and Dhuhr Prayer

Most of the Islamic heritage studies about daily time programming unanimously agree that dawn represents the beginning of the day and their view is on the practical day. This period is divided into dawn and sunrise. According to the Holy Qur’an, deeds pertaining to this period are aimed either at seeking the pleasure of Allah or making a living by all means, whereas Sunnah provides a detailed explanation of these two deeds, as follow:

Fajr Supererogatory prayer:

The Apostle peace be upon him used to pray Fajr Supererogatory prayer in his house, according to Ibn Umar who said “I remember ten ra’at from the Prophet peace be upon him … and two ra’ak before Fajr prayer … Hafsah told me that he used to offer two ra’kat after the call maker had made the Adhan and the day had dawned” ⁽¹⁾. This habit corresponds to a number of rules like: sustainability, balancing between tasks, “When you are free (from immediate tasks) then stand up for worship”…

This time is similar to the three times of “state of undress with the spouse” during which no companion –May Allah be please with them- goes to his house or visits him; it is indeed a sacred time, devoted for the sake of the Almighty Allah only.    

Performing Congregational Prayer of Fajr in the Mosque:  

Fajr prayer is an introduction to the prayers of the day and beginning of the activity, Sunnah focused on the congregational prayer of Fajr in the mosque, as several hadiths narrated in the topic such as: “A prayer performed in congregation is twenty-five times more superior in reward to a prayer performed by a single person. The angels of the night and the angels of the day are assembled at the time of the Fajr prayer” Abu Huraira narrated “Recite if you wish: Verily, the recitation of the Qur’an in the early dawn is ever witnessed” ⁽²⁾.   

Women are not exempted from attending Fajr prayer in congregation, “One of the wives of `Umar (bin Al-Khattab) used to offer the Fajr and the `Isha’ prayer in congregation in the Mosque. She was asked why she had come out for the prayer as she knew that `Umar disliked it, and he has great ghaira (self-respect). She replied, “What prevents him from stopping me from this act?” The other replied, “The statement of Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him: ‘Do not stop Allah’s women-slaves from going to Allah’s Mosques’ prevents him” ⁽³⁾.

The hadith reported by Aisha May Allah be pleased with her indicates this meaning, she said “Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him used to offer the Fajr prayer and some believing women covered with their veiling sheets used to attend the Fajr prayer with him and then they would return to their homes unrecognized” ⁽⁴⁾.

Invocation and Staying in the Mosque after Fajr Prayer:

We already mentioned that invocation is among the deeds that take a whole day and part of the baptized time ⁽⁵⁾, Sunnah of the Prophet provided some ideas for some time, such as the words of the Messenger: “say seven times when he had finished the Fajr prayer, before speaking to anyone, “O God, protect me from hell”; for if he said that and died that night, exemption from it would be recorded for him. He also told him to say that when he had prayed the morning prayer, for if he died that day, exemption from it would be recorded for him” ⁽⁶⁾.

The Apostle peace be upon him told us that whoever stays in the mosque after Fajr prayer to invocate Allah until sunrise will be granted a reward of Hajj and Umrah; some companions were even surprised, but the Apostle affirmed this with no doubt that he likes to integrate this deed into the Muslim’s daily schedule so as to keep him in touch with his Lord the whole day. He said “Whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun has risen, then he prays two Rak’ah, then for him is the reward like that of a Hajj and Umrah.” He said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Complete, complete, complete” ⁽⁷⁾.

It is obvious that no compulsory prayer can be offered in this time “No prayer is to be said after the morning prayer until the sun rises, or after the afternoon prayer until the sun sets” ⁽⁸⁾.

Early Mornings & Blessed Deeds:

The hadith of “my nation is blessed (for starting the day early)” is considered as a reference of the Islamic theory in managing the beginning of each work, whether mental, functional, leading or Jihadist work … each meaning of these fields can be inferred and referred by this hadith.

Abi Dawud reported “O Allah, bless my people in their early mornings.” When he sent out a detachment or an army, he sent them at the beginning of the day. Sakhr was a merchant, and he would send off his merchandise at the beginning of the day; and he became rich and had much wealth.

Abu Dawud said: He is Sakhr bin Wada’ah” ⁽⁹⁾.  

In another Hadith, the Prophet peace be upon him described the morning activity as kindness and described laziness as virulence; it is due to the complexity Satan plays to the mind when he sleeps, but this complexity was resolved by invocation, ablutions and prayer, the hadith was reported by Al-Bukhari as follow: “Satan ties three knots at the back of your head when you sleep, and he seals the place of each knot with ‘You have a long night ahead, so sleep.’ If you wake up and remember Allah, a knot is untied. If you perform ablutions, a knot is untied. If you pray, a knot is untied, and morning finds you lively and in good spirits, and if not, morning finds you in bad spirits and lazy” ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Eugene’s description –from time management science perspective- of the man who starts his day early in the morning resemble to the interpretation of hadith, in terms of material and psychological aspect, he says: “waking up before sunrise everyday needs massive self-organization but there are many advantages: no interruption, there is calmness and peace, you will have a great feeling of happiness that make you work hard to accomplish your goals and that you deserve all the best” ⁽¹¹⁾.

Western thought is not featured to function with early morning work for some logical reasons and circumstances, but considered illogical from an Islamic world view, for the following reasons:

– Nature of the cold weather in the western countries.

– Economic planning: energy, transport, telecommunications… 

– The idea is not associated to a religious obligation like prayer and invocation.

– Tendency for a “civilization of entertainment” according to Dumazedier ⁽¹²⁾.   

Entertainment in the western perspective is mostly nocturnal. ⁽¹³⁾

Zuhair Al-Hamoud says “we know since the early days of Islam that the Islamic rule about the best time to begin work is the early morning, however most of us do not apply it most of the time, while labor scholars have known it for years and they are trying to apply in order to increase the production” ⁽¹⁴⁾.  

This is to mean that the West does not entirely ignore the value of early morning time, there are attempts to benefit from it despite the fact they are just little attempts as a whole; Eugene points out that “Mary Kay” is considered as the first person to tell him about what she calls “the five o’clock club”, he said “mentioning this club was just a side talk in her observation of how women in her company were able to achieve their work. Most of the employees are salespeople in “Mary Kay” company; women whose daily work include preparing breakfast, lunch and taking kids to school, how are they capable to complete their sales if they face these tasks from Monday to Friday? Mary Kay’s answer was: the five o’clock club that starts the day at 5 am ⁽¹⁵⁾. Based on the same economic principals, Leister says “Many time problems can be reduced by starting the work earlier”, then asserts that working half an hour earlier may help achieve more than what one can achieve during the day” ⁽¹⁶⁾.   

By following scripts of hadith and Islamic heritage ⁽¹⁷⁾, we can say that: the Islamic civilization is a morning civilization; without a morning student, morning laborer, morning tradesperson and morning housewife … Muslim people won’t need to waste a whole day, achieve only few of their tasks and will not command their morning, therefore they will continue going backward. Abu Dharr May Allah be pleased with him describes this meaning using a metaphor “Your day is like a camel, take it from the head, the tail will follow it” ⁽¹⁸⁾.  

The advantage of being a morning person is not limited to work only, yet also to the comfort, some “sleep and insomnia” specialists say “waking up early is probably the surest way to sleep fast at night. Try to get up early in the morning, and strive to make this a daily routine, and the more you strive to make this a daily habit, the more certainly you will get to have an adequate and comfortable sleep at night” ⁽¹⁹⁾.       

Early morning & Educational classes:   

It is certain that early morning is the preferred time to do honorable deeds during the Prophet’s era. Nobel hadiths show the extent the Prophet’s keenness to teach companions their religion after Fajr prayer, we will demonstrate examples of some of them as follow:  

– The hadith reported by Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhni said “God’s messenger led us in the morning prayer at al-Hudaibiya after rain which had fallen during the night, and when he finished he turned to the people and said, “Do you know what your Lord has said?” On their replying that God and His messenger knew best he told them that He had said, “This morning there were among my servants one who believes in me and one who disbelieves. The one who said, ‘We have been given rain by God’s grace and mercy’ is the one who believes in me and disbelieves in the star, but the one who said, ‘We have been given rain by such and such a rainy star’ is the one who disbelieves in me and believes in the star” ⁽²⁰⁾.  

– In another hadith, the Apostle of Allah May Allah’s peace and prayer peace be upon him said about Fajr prayer “The Messenger of Allah peace and prayer be upon him said to Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) “Tell me about the most hopeful act (i.e., one which you deem the most rewarding with Allah) you have done since your acceptance of Islam because I heard the sound  ⁽²¹⁾ of the steps of your shoes in front of me in Jannah.” Bilal said: “I do not consider any act more hopeful than that whenever I make Wudu’ (or took a bath) in an hour of night or day, I would immediately perform Salat (prayer) for as long as was destined for me to perform” ⁽²²⁾.      

Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Al-Khattab May Allah be pleased with him directed the hadith of “My nation is blessed” for education. Nafi’ reported “I asked Ibn Umar May Allah be pleased with them about the Prophet’s saying: My nation is blessed for starting the day early, he said: for seeking knowledge and attending prayer in the first row” ⁽²³⁾.

Sources point out that ‘the first person who gathered children in his office was Umar ibn Al-Khattab, who ordered Amer ibn Abdullah Al-Khiza’i to stay with them and educate them, then was his salary was from the house of wealth (bayt al-Mal) and commanded him to teach them from Fajr to sunrise” ⁽²⁴⁾. Learning centers and Qur’anic schools focused on education during this time, until it became a daily habit.

Contemporary scholars state that getting up early in the morning “is the best time for studying and learning, because energy and spirit are at a high level, except for cases of late night sleep, insomnia or illness” ⁽²⁵⁾.  A study in the field of labor science mentioned that “getting ready to work actively and seriously is a specific timed readiness, this readiness is repeated day and night on a regular base, in addition to the fact that rapidity of such readiness; i.e., preparing oneself, mind and body for work is more likely higher early in the morning” ⁽²⁶⁾.   

As for the recent developments that occurred in the Western and then Islamic worlds like official schools, universities, and vocational centers … they are subject to the entire western curriculum, instead of taking the bright side and leaving what does not suit the Islamic community, however, it was copied and pasted entirely, maybe the best example represents timing in general; like the number of teaching hours, time to start and finish.    

The answer to the problematic of time dependence on the west will contribute to answering a deep question posed by thinker Alija Izetbegović “Has Islam contributed to shaping present day world?” ⁽²⁷⁾.  

Early Morning & Running Public and Prophetic Affairs:

I counted many hadiths indicating that the Apostle peace be upon him as a Prophet and as a leader often kept himself busy with the Muslims’ affairs after Fajr time to, among which the hadith of Al-Bukhari narrated as follow:  

“Messenger of Allah peace be upon him sent Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (May Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain to collect (Jizyah). So he returned from Bahrain with wealth. The Ansar got news of it and joined with the Prophet peace be upon him in the Fajr prayer. When the Prophet peace be upon him concluded the prayer, they stood in his way. When he saw them, he smiled and said, “I think you have heard about the arrival of Abu ‘Ubaidah with something from Bahrain”. They said, “Yes! O Messenger of Allah!”. He peace be upon him said, “Rejoice and hope for that which will please you. By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you, but I fear that this world will be opened up with its wealth for you as it was opened to those before you; and you vie with one another over it as they did and eventually it will ruin you as it ruined them” ⁽²⁸⁾.

During the prophet’s stay in Mecca period, the Messenger peace be upon him was expecting and planning for migration, waiting the permission for his Lord. Abu Bakr’s house was his favorite place for preparation and running his affairs, therefore, he goes to Abu Bakr’s house in the early morning and evening time, Ibn Hisham reported that Aisha Um El-Muminin said:

“Rarely did the Prophet peace be upon him fail to visit Abu Bakr’s house everyday, either in the morning or in the evening. When the permission for migration to Medina was granted, all of a sudden the Prophet peace be upon him came to us at noon and Abu Bakr was informed, who said, “Certainly the Prophet peace be upon him has come for some urgent matter …” ⁽²⁹⁾.   

Early time of the Day & Going for Jihad or for Trade:

Some of the positions held by the Apostle peace be upon him were: Jihad by all means of spiritual, psychological and physical readiness… including what requires time allocation. However, these positions are absent from the Islamic heritage attempt programs, in terms of contemporary view, he is considered as a soldier, army commander and security man …

Another hadith reported by Sakhr Al-Ghamdi that the Prophet peace be upon him said “O Allah bless my people in their early mornings”, in terms of a practical view “When he sent out a detachment or an army, he sent them at the beginning of the day”. This is for the Jihad in the meaning of war, whereas for Jihad which holds the meaning of making a living and serving others, Al-Ghamdi mentions that Sakhr ibn Wada’ah Sakhr was a merchant, and he would send off his merchandise at the beginning of the day; and he became rich and had much wealth” ⁽³⁰⁾. Abu Elhaj said in the chapter of “People’s behavior in their circumstances and their livelihood”, “every merchant should travel in the beginning of the day, according to the teaching of the Prophet “O Allah bless my people in their early mornings” ⁽³¹⁾.  

Among the main concepts pertaining to this time; i.e., between dawn and noon time is the concept of job or employment, which is also related to the concept of worship, but Imam Al-Ghazali who distributes the morning remembrance said that Muslim individual should “limit his income to the extent of his need for his day, no matter how much he is able to earn every day for his living” ⁽³²⁾, he rather declares that “if he gets enough earning for his day, then he should return to his Lord and take provision for his afterlife” ⁽³³⁾.

Can this suggestion be applicable to the contemporary Muslim?

Does Islam look at worship in this unilateral approach?

Does this mean whoever works hard in his job and earns a living not considered as a worshipper, and not preparing for his hereafter life? These questions are part of the general view of Islam, the answer to them resulted in a discrepancy in the positions of Islamic movements, which fluctuated between the most spiritual and the most material. Therefore, throughout the history, Sufi movements and excessive materialism movements have arisen and are still.  

By reading carefully the daily schedule of the Messenger peace be upon him with no prior guidance can be adequate to broad our view of the concepts of worship and work in the Islamic thought and reject the repeated attempts to bring about dominant times at the expanse of baptized time, which represent the spirit and depth of the Islamic thought in its time dimension. In terms of viewpoint of Islam, Malek Bennabi summarized this meaning by saying “teaching alphabets is deed, learning alphabets is deed, putting harm away from the road is deed, providing tips about cleanness or beauty is deed, planting a tree is deed, devoting our time to helping others is deed and so on” ⁽³⁴⁾, therefore, we work as long as we give and take in a way that affects history” ⁽³⁵⁾.   

In a reported hadith, the Apostle May peace and prayer be upon him said “Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you. Your pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is charity for you” ⁽³⁶⁾.

Under the big global debate over the number of working hours, the view of the Islamic thought, which was established upon fundamental-principal research and field studies remains completely absent and ineffective, although it carries many good solutions and new points of view.  

Does the Islamic thought adopt a constant, continuous or flexible working-hour system?

Does it suggest a different system from the Western systems? is it suitable to the nature of a Muslim, his cultural, intellectual, civilized and even environmental dimension?

What is the number of working hours during the week?

What are the working days? And what are the days off?

All of these questions ⁽³⁷⁾ require a specialized and in-depth research, and there should not be a disruption and imbalance between Muslim’s religious obligations and his functional requirements, because civilization is only based on consistency and balanced rhythm, not on contradiction and disruption.

The Apostle peace be upon him schedules his Battle Stages for the Day:

In an comprehensive text, Imam Ibn Hajar presented the daily program of the Apostle’s battles and how prayer was the center around which the daily planning of battles revolves, he says: in the chapter of: if the Prophet peace be upon him does not fight in the beginning of the day, he postpones the fight until sunset: I went on an expedition with God’s Messenger, and when dawn came he waited till the sun rose and when it rose he fought. Then when midday came he stopped till the sun passed the meridian and when it had done so he fought till the afternoon, when he stopped till he prayed the afternoon prayer, and then fought. Qatada told that it used to be said that the winds of victory blew at that time and the believers made supplication for their armies during their prayer” ^(38). 

We can extract a civilized meaning through this text, that the Apostle peace be upon him was the one who set the battle time and directed its daily program ⁽³⁹⁾, as well as it was he who determined by himself the place of the battle ⁽⁴⁰⁾, which indicates a high concept of military technology and control over the course of events.    

From time studies point of view and by expanding concepts of war and peace, Jihad and fight, victory and defeat… Analysts point out that “the fastest developed and the most powerful countries end up imposing their time model on others … subjecting others to your time is considered as a distinct form of domination” ⁽⁴¹⁾, Hence, here we may talk about a (daily) time-programming war, time battles, struggling to free the schedule and independence of the schedule … and other concepts that are part of the this time-civilized proposal.   

What can be Eaten in the Morning:

Having breakfast according to the Nobel hadith of the Prophet is only related to fasting, because morning breakfast was not commonly known in the Prophet’s era as a permanent daily meal, in the jurisprudence: what is commonly applied in atonement is limited to the usual meals “lunch and dinner are the usual meals” ⁽⁴²⁾ which is the general opinion of scholars ⁽⁴³⁾. Al-Sarakhsi says: “the meaning of facilitating (in fasting) is that people are used to have two meals: lunch and breakfast, hence, to have a breakfast means to give up on lunch and have only one meal which is dinner; then the Almighty Allah kept these two meals by advancing lunch as described by the Apostle peace be upon him that having lunch at dawn is a blessed lunch” ⁽⁴⁴⁾. 

Morning meal is called lunch in jurisprudence, because “lunch is the meal between dawn and noon. Dinner: between noon and sunset. Suhur: between midnight and dawn” ⁽⁴⁵⁾.

We learn from a number of hadiths that lunch does not have a specific time, which implied that it was not eaten constantly, except for people who are fasting, because it is recommended to have Suhur before dawn” ⁽⁴⁶⁾, other than that only few dates can be eaten. The Messenger peace be upon him said “He who eats seven ‘Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them” ⁽⁴⁷⁾. It is impossible to generalize this hadith to all regions of the world, whether cold or hot, or the places which are not gifted with dates –which are few- and those that do not have it at all.  

We do not know the history during which breakfast was served as a regular morning meal in the Islamic world, perhaps little research can indicate that colonizers brought this habit with them and the idea was established in Muslim’s daily habits, until it became integral part of the contemporary Muslim’s daily schedule.

Duha Prayer:

Oum Al-muminin Aisha was asked about the Messenger’s habit in Duha prayer, whether he persists with it? And about the number of ra’kat he offers?

About the first question, we read Abdullah ibn Shaqiq who said “I aksed ‘A’isha whether the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him used to observe the forenoon prayer. She said: No, except when he came back from a journey” ⁽⁴⁸⁾.

About the second question, we read Mu’adha’s question to Aisha May Allah be pleased with her: “I asked A’isha how many rak’as Allah’s Messenger prayed at the forenoon prayer, and she replied, “Four rak’as, but sometimes more” ⁽⁴⁹⁾.  

The hadith is indicating that the Muslim has to perform charity every morning for the sake of the Almighty Allah and for himself too; it he prays Duha prayer, it is then sufficient, as narrated by Muslim “In the morning alms ⁽⁵⁰⁾ are due from every bone in a man’s fingers and toes. Every utterance of ‘Glory be to God’ is alms; every utterance of ‘Praise be to God’ is alms; every utterance of ‘There is no god but God’ is alms; every utterance of ‘God is most great’ is alms; enjoining good is alms; forbidding what is disreputable is alms; and two rak’as which one prays in the forenoon serve instead of that” ⁽⁵¹⁾.

There is no contradiction between prayer and job, if theorists view them as complementary to each other, prioritizes them without prejudice between rights and duties and no persistence is required “teachers can offer their prayer during their free time, the same thing for employees if it does not affect his work, whereas the housewife should feel comfortable by devoting her time for the sake of Allah” ⁽⁵²⁾, she is free to offer Duha prayer anytime she wants, providing that she fulfills her marital, family and social duties.     

Labor scientists can include Duha prayer under the general framework of production “in contrary to what was believed, long and continuous working hours do not only increase the amount of production, but maybe the reason for its decrease, which made contemporary companies strive to set appropriate rest periods during the daily working period” ⁽⁵³⁾. This approach is appropriate to the principal of “observing moderation in deeds” and of “when you are free from immediate tasks then stand up for worship” in the Islamic thought, it is at the same time appropriate regarding prayer as a form of rest and suitable for applications of the differences between efficiency and effectiveness in management science.   

Righteous Deeds in the Morning:

Al-Ghazali mentioned some forenoon (Duha) deeds “righteous deeds towards others, which people usually do in the morning like: visiting patients and attending funerals ⁽⁵⁴⁾, seeking uprightness and piety and attending learning circles” ⁽⁵⁵⁾.  

Ibn Qayyim said: “It was not from his guidance, peace and blessings of God be upon him, to single out one of the days for visiting the sick, or any of the times, but he allowed his people to visit the sick night, day or any other time” ⁽⁵⁶⁾. He cited a hadith in the book of Imam Ahmad, wherein: “here is no Muslim who visits a [sick] Muslim, but Allah will send to him seventy thousand angels who will send blessings upon him from whatever hour of the day it is until evening comes, and from whatever hour of the night it is until morning comes” ⁽⁵⁷⁾.

It is up to the researcher to track the hadiths, in order to know which kind of righteous deeds are associated with a specific time, which of them is not associated and to what extent of specification. Such work -if achieved- will benefit the researcher in time programming in general and daily scheduling in particular.  

Lunch Meal:

According to Islamic jurists “lunch is the meal that takes place before noon, whereas dinner from noon to midnight” ⁽⁵⁸⁾. According to the hadith reported by Abu Hurairah May Allah be please with him: “I was going along with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he heard a man reciting al-Ikhlas chapter. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘It is obligatory,’ and I asked him, ‘What is, Messenger of Allah?’ and he said, ‘The Garden.’ I wanted to tell the man the good news but I was afraid that I would miss the midday meal with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I preferred to eat with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. When I went to the man afterwards I found that he had gone” ⁽⁵⁹⁾.    

Another hadith reported by Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri, who said “I came to the Messenger of Allah from a journey and greeted him with Salam. When I was going to leave he said: ‘Stay and have meal for breakfast, O Abu Umayyah.’ I said: ‘I am fasting, O Prophet of Allah.’ He said: ‘Come and I will tell about the traveler. Allah, most high, has waived fasting and of the prayer for him” ⁽⁶⁰⁾. 

It is obvious that lunchtime during the Prophet’s era was before noon, not after it, unlike the case in many Muslim countries today.  

Supererogatory Prayer before Dhur Prayer:

Offering two -or four rakat- before noon was among the Nawafil observed by the Prophet peace be upon him, which are part of his daily schedule and considered to be the last deeds of the morning period, which begin with prayer and end up with prayer; therefore, all day phases come all between prayers, either compulsory or Supererogatory ones. It is important to note that prayer does not take a long time and the longest period between two compulsory prayers is the morning period between Fajr and Dhuhr prayer, in order to make it easy for people to seek the pleasure of Allah by making a living, working and diligence.

The hadith reported by Ibn Umar can be the example of the two rakat offered before noon “I remember ten rakat from the Prophet peace be upon him, two rakat before Dhuhr prayer …” ⁽⁶¹⁾. In addition to the hadith reported by Aisha May Allah be pleased with her “He used to pray four rakat in my house, then he goes out to pray in congregation …” ⁽⁶²⁾.

After this presentation, we shall collect deeds that the Messenger May peace and prayer be upon him used to often do, in the following table:    

Performing Fajr Prayer in Congregation
Fajr Time	Early Morning: Blessed Deeds	Forenoon Time	Food
Performing supererogatory prayer at home and staying in the mosque after Fajr prayer	Learning circles, running public and Prophetic affairs, going for Jihad and trade, scheduling battle programs for the day.	Duha prayer, a number of righteous deeds and supererogatory prayer before noon	Eating some palm dates Lunch meal
Sleeping is disliked early in the morning and in the forenoon

Deeds Between Fajr and Noon according to the Holy Sunnah

This period is the longest period for righteous deeds, which is characterized by early morning deeds in the Islamic thought, which was blessed by the Almighty Allah, and was mostly known by moving from one task to another. We even feel surprised by the righteous deeds the Apostle of Allah performs, that if any Muslim observes him from his own aspect, he will realized that He is number one in everything he does; the worshiper will see the Apostle’s program as a complete model, the same thing for the scholar, fighter and employee. Therefore, we can describe the program of the Apostle peace be upon him as a miraculous and overall one, which entail another kind of I’jaz (miraculous nature) called: miraculous nature of the daily schedule, rhythm and ability to do many tasks in a short period, the Prophet is therefore, the ideal, example and the universal man.  

We can notice the presence of most of the programming rules, sustainability, observing moderation in deeds, balancing between tasks … it is a mistake to limit deeds of the Apostle peace be upon him in one field at the expanse of another, in one task over another or neglecting one duty and focusing on another.

1.       Already extracted and authenticated, P333.

• Narrated by Al-Bukhari, book of Prophetic commentary on the Qur’an, chapter of “Verily, the recitation of the Qur’an in the early dawn is ever witnessed” chapter 4/ No. 1748, No. 4400, reported in chain.

•  Narrated by Al-Bukhari: Book of Friday, Chapter of Is the bath necessary for those who do not present themselves for the Friday prayer, P305, No. 858, reported in chain.
• Reported by Al-Rabi’, chapter of prayer times, volume 1/ P79, No. 181 and narrated by Al-Bukhari, book of prayer, chapter of how many Garments Should A Woman Pray In?, volume 1/ P365, reported in chain.   
• Look above, P94.
• Narrated by Ibn Hayyan, already extracted and authenticated.
• Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi: book of Friday, chapter of recommended stay in the mosque after Fajr prayer until sunrise; volume 2/ P481, No. 535, reported in chain.
• Narrated by Al-Bukhari: Book of Friday, Chapter of One should not try to offer the prayers just before sunrise; volume 1/ P212, No. 561, reported in chain.
• Narrated by Abu Dawood, book of Jihad, chapter of Regarding Setting Out On A Journey During The Early Hours Of The Day; volume 3/ P35, No. 2606, reported in chain.

Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; book of Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; chapter of What Has been Related about Doing Business Early.

1. Narrated by Al-Rabi’; book of ablutions; volume 1/ P63, No. 130, narrated by Al-Bukhari; book of Friday, chapter of Satan’a tying of knots at the back of the head if one does not offer the night prayer. volume 1/ P383, No. 109 reported in chain.
2. Griessman: Time Tactics of Very Successful People; P110.
3. Dumazedier: Vers une civilisation du loisir.

1. Look – the same source entitled:

Les fonctions du loisir et la participation au cinéma, pp145-154

Télévision et loisir, pp155-177

1. Al-Hamoud: Time and Work, journal of Mu’tah; P189.
2. Griessman: Time Tactics of Very Successful People; P109-110.
3. Lister: Time Management; full guide for managers under stress; P69.
4. Lokk for Instance Abu Ghudda’s book: Value of Time for Scholars, Alyabroudy: Value of Time in the Islamic Education.  
5. Redha Alawi: How to Invest your Time; P258.
6. Al-Sharbini: Insomnia is an Illusion that has a Cure; P62-63.  

•   Narrated by Al-Rabi’; book of polytheism and disbelief; volume 1/ P44, No. 62, narrated by Al-Bukhari; book of call to prayer (Adhaan), chapter of The Imam should face the followers after finishing the prayer with Taslim, volume 1/ P290, No. 811, reported in chain.
• In Lisan Al-Arab, Khashaf indicates: movement and sound.
• Narrated by In Hayyan, volume 15/ P560, No. 7085.
• Abu Saad, Abdel Karim bin Muhammad bin Mansur, Al-Tamimmi Al-Sam’ani (died in 562AH/1166AD) Adab al-Imla wa al-Istimla reviewed by Max Weisweiler, Al-Ilmiyah publishing house, Beirut; 1401AH/ P1981AD, P108.
• Al Nafrawi: Fawakih Al-Adwani, P30, Atfaiche: Sharh Annil; volume10/ P42, look: Alyabroudy: Value of Time; P58-59.
•  Patrick de Sainte-Lorette et Jo Marzé : Comment développer sa mémoire, col. Etudiantm ed. El-Chihab, Alger, 1995.p5.

•  Al-Hamoud: Time and Work, journal of Mu’tah; P189.  
• Alija Izetbegović: Islam between East and West; P27.
• Narrated by Al-Bukhari; book of making the heart tender, chapter of the warning regarding worldly pleasures, amusements and competing against each other; ed 5/ P2361, P6061, reported in chain.

• Ibn Hisham, Abu Muhammad Ab Al-Malik (died 218AH/ 833AD) (Ibn Hisham’s biography; reviewed by Muhammad Mahyuddin Abdul Hamid, Al-Fikr publishing house, Beirut; volume 2/ P97.
•  Already extracted and authenticated, look above, P354.
• Abu Al-Haj: Al-Madkhal; volume 4/ P45.
• Al-Ghazali: The Revival of the Religious Sciences; P401.
• IBID.
•  All the examples mentioned by Malek Bennabi are proved in the Holy Qur’an and Nobel Sunnah.
• Malek Bennabi: the Conditions for the Renaissance, P107-108.
• Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, book of righteousness and maintaining good relations, chapter of  what has been related about various kinds of ma’ruf (good deeds); volume 4/ P339, No. 1879, reported in chain.
• Such question were highly posed in the West for decades, which continue to draw a lot of attentions today, Internet can be the best evidence; for example by searching using keywords of: 25 hours leads to hundreds of articles, research, laws, websites, dialogues…etc.

Check the bibliographies transferred by the research from several Internet websites, with handouts, some of these websites are as follow:

alapage.com/amazon.com/britanica.com

Look – articles in the diplomatic world about this subject, such as: Beaud, Michel: Quel sacrifices pour le temps libéré? Le Monde  diplomatique (Octobre 1997) p29

Alain Bihr: Partager les richesses, ou partager la misère?  Le Monde  diplomatique (juillet 1993) p5….

Look also:

Cette, Gilbert et Taddei, Dominique: Réduire la durée du travail, De la théorie a la pratique, col. Inédit,   ed. livre de poche, No 54, 1997.

38 – Ibn Hajar – Farh Al-Bari; volume 6/ P121.

39 – This meaning is supported by the fact that on the day of the battle of the Trench, Muslims were distracted from the middle prayer, and they prayed it after its due time, so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, alerted to this defect in the daily program, and to the danger of time dependence, and this was in the form of supplication, he said “May Allah fill their (the infidels’) graves and houses with fire, as they have kept us so busy that we could not offer the middle prayer till the sun had set; and that prayer was the `Asr prayer”. Narrated by Al-Bukhari, book of fighting for the cause of Allah (Jihad), chapter of whoever arranged his companions at the time of defeat, and got down from his riding animal and requested Allah for help, volume 3/ P1071, No. 2773, reported in chain.

40 – As the case for the battle of Uhud, the battle of the Trenches and others.

41 – Sue: Temps et ordre social, p20.

42- Al Motarerzi: Maghreb; P27.

43- Al-Kassan: Bada’ia Al-Sana’ia; volume5/ P102. Look Al-Bukhari, Kashf Al Asrar; volume2/ P, Atfaich; Sharh Annil; volum/ P371, 407, a group of scholars: Indian Fatwa; volume3/ P63.

44- Al-Sarakhsi: Al-Mabsut; volume3/ P54.

45- Al Motarerzi: the same source; P337.

46- Al-Shafi’I; the Mother; volume 2/ P105, Atfaich: Sharh Annil; volume 3/ P429.

47- Narrated by Al-Bukhari; book of food, chapter of Al-‘Ajwa (a special kind of date), volume 5/ P2075, reported in chain.  

48- Narrated by Muslim; book of prayer & travelers, chapter of It is recommended to pray Duha, the least of which is two rak`ah, volume 1/ P498 No. 498, reported in chain.

49- Narrated by Muslim; book of prayer & travelers, chapter of It is recommended to pray Duha, the least of which is two rak`ah, volume 1/ P497 No. 719, reported in chain.  

50- Alms, Ibn Manthur; Lisan Al-Arab; volume 12/ P298.

51- Narrated by Muslim; book of prayer & travelers, chapter of It is recommended to pray Duha, the least of which is two rak`ah, volume 1/ P498 No. 720, reported in chain.  

52- Al Qasim, Abd El Malik: What Can you Do in 10 Minutes; Al-Qassim publishing house; 1419AH, P11.

53- Boudharifa: Chronobiology; P14.

54- Look, funeral prayer times, mainly after Fajr and Asr prayer, in jurisprudential sources at that time – Malik: Al-Mudawana: volume 1/ P264, Al-Shafi’i: The Mother; volume1/ P174. Al-Sarakhsi: Al-Mabsut; volume 1/ P152. Atfaich: Sharh Al-Nil; volume 2/ P21.  

55- The Revival of the Religious Sciences; P400-401.

56- Zad Al-Ma’ad, volume 1/ P400-401.

57- Imam Ahmed, Al-Musnad: volume1/ P118, No. 40282, reported in chain.

58- Al-Saffarini: Abu al-Aun Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Salim bin Sulayman al-Saffarini (died in 1188AH/ 1774AD): (Ghidha Al-Albab; Jami’ Al-Fiqh edition, Harf company, United Arab Emirates; 1999, volume2/ P87.

59- Narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, 1/ P754, No. 2079, reported in chain.

60- Narrated by Al-Dārimī, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (died in 255AH/ 869AD), Sunan Al-Drami. Reviewed by Fuwaz Ahmed Zemirly, Khalid Al-Sab’a Al-Almi; Al-Qitab Al-Arabi publishing house, Beirut; 1417AH/ 1987AD, volume2 / P17, No. 1712, reported in chain.

61- Already extracted and authenticated, P333. 

62- Already extracted and authenticated, P334.