علم الزمن والوقت
The Almighty Allah promised believers in Adh-Dhariyat chapter and showed their happy destiny in the gardens of delight, then praised their deeds in order to obtain this honorable rank, He says: “They were in the habit of sleeping but little by night. And in the hour of early dawn, they (were found) praying for Forgiveness”. In another verse from Aal-Imran chapter, the Almighty points out to His believers as the people “who pray for forgiveness in the early hours of the morning” in worldly life.
Seeking forgiveness includes prayer and other deeds. However, prayer is preferable. It was reported in the Holy Hadith that it is the hour of answer, as the Apostle peace and prayer of Allah be upon him said: “Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the first part of the night is over and says: I am the Lord; I am the Lord: who is there to beg forgiveness from Me so that I forgive him? Who is there to supplicate Me so that I answer him? Who is there to beg of Me so that I grant him? He continues like this till the illumination of Fajr”.
If this time has such amount of reward, why do people usually ignore that? Why do people usually neglect it? Why do few people leave their bed at dawn to seek refuge in their Lord, ask Him for their needs, ask Him for forgiveness for their sins, and repent to Him for what they did before and what they will do later?
There is no doubt that the lifestyle that has been imposed on people in recent centuries, which is an imported and inauthentic system, therefore, it is a Taylorist not a Mohammedan system. It is derived from the European legislation, not from divine revelation, because it mostly came with colonialism and with Napoleon’s invasions starting from Egypt. Muslim people before that used to live on a natural rhythm, not as a “machine” or a “daily work” determined by hours, school and administrative schedules … this was not what people are used to do. However, they did not reach a civilized level, to enable them to “control” the schedule imported from the West, to benefit from its advantages and keep its disadvantages away. Rather, the society -during its underdevelopment stage- did not have any alternative proposals, it was just monotonous peculiarities, which are the most dominant.
Malek Bennabi pointed out that two centuries ago, the Islamic nation was living in a deep sleep waiting for someone to wake it up, so the colonization came and woke it up, but upon the sound of bombs, bullets and destruction. It was a forced awakening that was more likely to be a loss than an awakening. From that day, the Islamic world has been looking for campus, in order to rebuild itself internally and restore its status among the nations. In fact, there are no signs in the horizon promising a good and a more ideal future, as there is a desperate need for diligence and effort, without recklessness or haste.
Perhaps restoring the value of dawn individually then collectively is a step to contribute to establishing a blessing in our daily schedule. The river is a number of drops that gather then flow. If the blessing of Allah was bestowed upon it, it will water the plants, grow fruits and will revive countries and people.
Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Within the book that in the process of writing about “Dawn and Early Morning Time” between starting points of revelation, constraints of reality and the tax of dependency and obsession.
Written by: Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Translated by: Toufik Achour
Date:08/11/2023
The Article title in Arabic:وبالأسحار هم يستغفرون (ضريبة التخلف وتكلفة الحضارة)
