How Can I Wake up for Fajr and Overcome Pornography Addiction?

Answered by Shaykh Jamir Meah

Question: Assalamu alaykum

I offer my prayer regularly except Fajr. Sometimes I watch wrong videos. I can’t control myself. How can I stop doing this sin?

Answer: Wa’alaykum assalam. Jazakum Allah for reaching out. May Allah grant you strength to overcome the challenges you’re facing.

Fajr Prayer

The 5 obligatory prayers are the very fundamentals of the faith, and upmost care should be taken to perform each one on time. Allah most high tells us, ‘Worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance.’ [13:14]

And the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad.’ [al Tabarani]

It is important that you work out the reasons why you are not regularly waking up for Fajr and address these issues. You may notice from the hadith that the Prophet ﷺ is telling us that proper performance of prayer has a direct effect on other actions in one’s day. If we are remiss of the prayers, then we will be remiss in other aspects of the faith, including avoiding sins.

To address the issue:

– Ensure you are getting to bed early enough to wake up for Fajr
– Set multiple alarms around the room and places far away from your bed
– Ask a family member to wake you
– Don’t eat or drink too much late in the evening
– Don’t stay up watching things on computer or TV screens
– Keep away from sins and viewing prohibited images and videos
– Take an afternoon nap
– Make the intention to wake up for Fajr when going to bed, and say the sunnah supplications for going to sleep, which can be found in the following answer:
Praiseworthy Acts to Do Before Sleeping

Please also read this answer for further benefit:
The Importance of Fajr Prayer and How to Pray It on Time

Pornography addiction

May Allah give you strength in overcoming this addiction, which is damaging to not only one’s spiritual state and religious practice, but also to one’s physical health. Please try the following:

– Avoid using the internet and any social media as much as possible, even if you have to terminate your internet subscription. If you need to access emails etc., do so in public spaces. Try to minimise any work that needs to be done on a computer, even if it is not using the internet. Move your computer/phone to open areas of the house.

– Keep yourself busy at all times. Have a variety of activates during the day.

-Make a list of things you can automatically do as soon as the urge starts. For example, you may go and make wudu and pray two cycles of prayer, or go and do a quick bout of an exercise etc. Some people find pouring cold water over the private parts helps. Also, make note of any particular activity (e.g. during mental work/reading etc.), or any particular time (such as when you wake up or when you go to sleep) that the urge usually comes, and get up and do one of the distractions on your list.

– Some people set themselves minor penances that will make you think twice. For example, every time you fall prey to the problem, you promise you will give $20 in charity immediately.

– Avoid eating too satiety too much

– Read Qur’an daily. Pray your prayers on time

– Pray the prayer of repentance each time you make the same mistake, and ask Allah to forgive you and grant you the resolve to stop.

– Make plenty of du’a, some of which can be found in the following answer:
Supplications for Stopping Masturbation

Please also read the following answers for more useful information:
A Reader on Pornography Addiction
What Can I Do to Stay Away From Pornography?

Warmest salams,
[Shaykh] Jamir Meah

Shaykh Jamir Meah grew up in Hampstead, London. In 2007, he traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he spent nine years studying the Islamic sciences on a one-to-one basis under the foremost scholars of the Ribaat, Tarim, with a main specialization and focus on Shafi’i fiqh. In early 2016, he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continues advanced studies in a range of Islamic sciences, as well as teaching. Jamir is a qualified homeopath.