A Day in the Life of Prophet Muhammad(SAW)

A Walk in the Depth of the Night

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) might go out

towards the end of the night, when it is the best time for night

worship, to the home of his daughter Fatimah and her husband

'Ali. He would call out to them: "Will you not get up and pray?"

'Ali reported that he once said to the Prophet: "Messenger of God,

we pray only what has been made obligatory to us. Our souls are in

God's hand. If He wishes to bring us alive, He will do so." 'Ali

added that the Prophet left when he said that and did not speak to

him. He then heard that as he left, the Prophet He struck his thigh

and said: "We pray only what has been made obligatory to us. 'Man

is, above all else, always given to contention."' ( 1 8: 54)

Towards the end of his life, he used to go during the night to

the cemetery at al-Baqi' and pray for the_ dead buried there. The

first of these occasions was the one reported by 'A'ishah: "When it

was the night when the Prophet was s taying with me, he turned and

put off his top garment, took off his shoes and put them near his

feet, placed the edge of his lower garment on bed and lay in bed. He

stayed only until he thought I had gone to sleep. He then took his

top garment quietly and very quietly put on his shoes, opened the

door and went out, then he closed the door without making a

sound. I immediately put on my shirt, covered my head, put on my

robes and went out following him. He went to al-Baqi' where he

stood long, then he lifted his arms three times. He then turned and

I turned, walked fast and I walked fast, started to jog and I j ogged,

and then increased his speed and I did the same. I was faster than

him and went in. I was hardly in bed when he entered. He said:

'What is the matter with you, 'A'ishah? You seem agitated.' I said

there was nothing. He said: 'You shall tell me, or I will be told by

God who knows all.' I said: 'Messenger of God, you are dearer to

me than all else.' Then I told him all. He said: 'Were you then that

blackness I saw ahead of me?' I said I was. He poked me once in

the chest hurting me and said: 'Have you thought that God and His

messenger might be unfair to you?' I said: 'Whatever people will

hide will be known to God. Yes, I did.' He said: 'Gbariel came to

me when you saw what I did and called me out, hiding this from

you. I answered him and kept that from you. He would not enter your room when you have taken off your clothes. I felt that you had

gone to sleep and I did not wish to wake you up, thinking that you

might feel lonely [when I had gone] . He told me God's order to go

to al-Baqi' and pray for the forgiveness of those buried there."'

' A'ishah continues: "I asked him how should I address those in

the graves. He said that I should say: 'Peace be to the · people of this

place who are Muslims and believers. May God bestow mercy on

those of us who have gone ahead and those who will go later. We

shall, God willing, be joining you . ' After that, he used to go out

every night towards the end of the night to al-Baqi ' . He would say:

'Peace be to you in a place of believing people. You have met what

you have been promised. You are awaiting the morrow. We shall

join you, God willing. My Lord, forgive the people in Baqi ' alGharqad."'

How admirable this Prophet was when he went out quietly in

the depth o f the night and stood before the graves of his

companions who had died without seeing the great victory of I slam

when people started to embrace it in flocks. They went to their

Lord when the Muslim community was still small in number, going

through hardship and facing the determined onslaught of their

enemies. They passed away, having received no reward in this

present life.

At that time, the Prophet was receiving delegation after

delegation from all over Arabia. Yet, neither these delegations nor

the expansion of the area of Islam prevented him from thinking

about those that had gone ahead. He dedicated a part of the time of

his rest to stand before their graves, remembering their faces and

raising his arms to pray for them.

At the time, the Prophet was about to bid his final farewell to

this present life. He was bidding farewell to both the dead and the

living in readin ess to go to the Supreme Companion.