What is your advice for a young man who abandons the Fajr prayer and practices the secret habit?
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The questioner : The honorable Shaykh says: I tell you that I love you for the sake of Allah, and I ask Allah the Exalted to gather us and those present in the company of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Honorable Shaykh, I tell you that this is the first time I am attending this meeting, and my question is: I am a young man who loves the callers to Allah, but in two traits: First, I practice the secret habit and have tried to quit it but could not. Second, I abandon the Fajr prayer, even though I blame myself greatly. So what is your advice to me? I ask you to make du'a for me, and let those present say "Ameen," and may Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah for steadfastness for us and for him. I say this, if Allah wills, that good may be hoped for him in the future, because he is trying to rid himself of the trial of the secret habit, which is masturbation. Whoever tries something with sincerity to Allah the Mighty and Sublime and supplication to Allah the Mighty and Sublime, then Allah the Mighty and Sublime, if He knows from him the sincerity of intention, will help him with it. So I say to the brother: be sincere in your intention with Allah, and supplicate to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, during prostration, between the adhan and the iqamah, and at the end of the night, for that will help you to break off from this matter. As for the Fajr prayer, try to sleep early, because those who are late for the Fajr prayer are overcome by sleep because they do not sleep until late. This is contrary to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked sleeping before 'Isha' and disliked talking after 'Isha', meaning conversation. Why? Because if a person stays up after 'Isha', he hardly gets up for the Fajr prayer. So I advise this brother to be keen to sleep early and to instruct the household to come to him and wake him up, and not to leave, because some people, when they come to wake their children, say, "So-and-so, so-and-so, get up, the Fajr adhan has been called," and he says, "If Allah wills," and then the man who came to wake him leaves, and he knows nothing about him. But young men like these need you to say to him, "Get up," and stand at his head until he gets up. And some young men, after they get up, then return and sleep. Hold his hand until you take him to the bathroom, knock on their door forcefully, and they will open it, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah for steadfastness for us and for him. I say this, if Allah wills, that good may be hoped for him in the future, because he is trying to rid himself of the trial of the secret habit, which is masturbation. Whoever tries something with sincerity to Allah the Mighty and Sublime and supplication to Allah the Mighty and Sublime, then Allah the Mighty and Sublime, if He knows from him the sincerity of intention, will help him with it. So I say to the brother: be sincere in your intention with Allah, and supplicate to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, during prostration, between the adhan and the iqamah, and at the end of the night, for that will help you to break off from this matter. As for the Fajr prayer, try to sleep early, because those who are late for the Fajr prayer are overcome by sleep because they do not sleep until late. This is contrary to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked sleeping before 'Isha' and disliked talking after 'Isha', meaning conversation. Why? Because if a person stays up after 'Isha', he hardly gets up for the Fajr prayer. So I advise this brother to be keen to sleep early and to instruct the household to come to him and wake him up, and not to leave, because some people, when they come to wake their children, say, "So-and-so, so-and-so, get up, the Fajr adhan has been called," and he says, "If Allah wills," and then the man who came to wake him leaves, and he knows nothing about him. But young men like these need you to say to him, "Get up," and stand at his head until he gets up. And some young men, after they get up, then return and sleep. Hold his hand until you take him to the bathroom, knock on their door forcefully, and they will open it, if Allah wills.