Afternoon Hours

Upon completion of the dhuhr prayer, the Prophet (PBUH) might discuss another inspirational topic with his congregation.

Then, once again, he leaves and goes back to home check on his family, do more voluntary prayers. He often went out with the sahaba (companions) to handle any concerns within the city as a leader must do.

It was not unusual for him to return to the mosque until Asr and then once again return home.

Evening Hours

Upon hearing the call to prayer for Maghrib, he would go to the mosque to lead the congregation, then go home.

No discussion was held because it was dinner time. While at home he would eat in a gracious way with his wife so as to make her feel happy.

Such as feeding her from his own hands, drinking from the same spot in a cup and never complaining even if he didn’t like the food.

Sometimes companions came over, and they all ate together, and had discussions about religion and society. Don’t forget, he ate with his right hand and used his fingers.

Now it is time for Isha at the mosque. It was very rare that they had any type of discussion after Isha; the people would go home and rest.

Upon returning home, the Prophet (PBUH) would pray more optional prayers and spend more time with family.

He would enter his humble bed, sharing the bed with his wife while sleeping on his right side.

During later hours, he would wake up to recite Quran and prepare for evening prayers.

His evening prayers were said to be lengthy and beyond what most of us could do.

For witr he often wakes his wife up to pray with him.

Before the night ends he would take another nap until Fajr.

“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds”[Quran 21:107]

Summary

After examining this typical day in the life of the Prophet (PBUH) we see a few trends.

Worship, family, and service to society. His day revolved around acts of worship, quality time and conversation with family and connecting to the society around him.

He was focused on what matters the most, the heart. He was connected to the heart of his family, the heart of the city, and the Quran was an inseparable part of his heart.

Prophet Muhammad: An Example and Beacon of Hope

This leads me to ask you as well as myself, are your priorities straight? Do you wake with God-consciousness, gratitude and intentions to be with family in acts of worship or do you wake up and focus on due dates, responsibilities and bills.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons I can deduce from this is to focus on what is important and sideline the rest.

Practical Action Plan

1. Now that you have a base understanding of the Prophet’s (PBUH) daily life, you can put this into action.

2. Make duaa and have intention to improve your productivity in accordance with sunnah.

3. Begin your day with sincere prayer and any other acts of worship that you can successfully focus on.

4. Identify your distractions/time suckers and minimize them.

You have to take action and remove them; don’t just rely on your willpower.

5. Make time for family and say alhamdulillah for having them. Try to connect with them and discuss spirituality.

6. Be courteous to your neighbors and remember how well the Prophet (PBUH) treated his neighbors and anyone within the city, even if they were not Muslim. Serve the people around you as he did daily.

7. Don’t miss out on your evening opportunities. Try to engage in evening worship. It does not need to be big.

Set your alarm 30 minutes before Fajr so you can pray witr and recite Quran before you pray fajr.

This will start your day in worship and center your thoughts.

Final Thoughts

We live in a fast-paced world that is pushing for success and productivity, but all too often we are burning ourselves out focusing on the wrong things.

You can be highly successful and productive without being miserable if you take pointers from the daily life of the Prophet (PBUH) and try to employ them in your daily habits.

This doesn’t mean you have to try and emulate his life 100%, but if you embody the concept of focusing on worship, family, and service, then you are on the right track to success, inshallah.

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This article is from our archive, published on an earlier date, and highlighted here for its importance.