Sleeping after Subuh prayer and Nail-clipping

Pelita Ayan image from google

I remembered some 40+ years ago, waking up at the melodious voice of my late father “mengaji” between 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. He has to recite the Al Quran from memory as the light from “pelita ayan” powered by kerosene is not strong enough for him to read The Book. He will be reciting the Quranic verses while performing his morning stretching, which at times took him 1 to 2 hours. Sometime I would wake up as early to accompany him, using the pelita ayan to do my home-works. He would only allow me to accompany him if I promised not to attempt to sleep after the Subuh prayer. He did not explain much as to why I should not sleep after the Subuh prayer.. It was my mother who has made some attempt to explain it to me saying in her thick Trengganuspeak “orang dok tidor lepah Subuh.. ka’at rizki” (people do not sleep after Subuh prayer.. it discourages sustenance or provision).

Last Saturday, I sent a few SMS to a fellow Muslim an hour after Subuh. Just when duration of Subuh was about to finish he called me to provide answers to my queries and worries. Satisfied that I understand the situation perfectly, he finished the call telling me that he and members of his family would be doing his routine.. sleeping after Subuh … My not so sharp brain was out of focus then..Oh why not .. after all it is Saturday!.

After a while.. I recalled, this friend here has been doing business for some 15 years.. however good were his proposals / working papers.. Other opportunistic bystanders seem to be benefiting from them (proposals / working papers).. while he slogs on.. having to struggle day-in and day-out to make ends meet. 15 years is quite a long time to struggle and this last 12 months seems to cap it all.

Another SMS seems to be the order of the day.. my SMS to him reads :
“I had been prohibiting my children from napping after solat Subuh.. For there is a saying that sleeping after Subuh is not encouraging rizk (sustenance or provision ).. Unless you are not well.. I am not about to change my stance” .

Late that evening, I received another call from him still talking about business at hand.. to end up saying that he has told his grandson that from now on there will be no more sleeping after solat Subuh .

I have four Chinese families as immediate neighbours(one on each sides, in front and at the back) with my house sandwiched in the middle.. Two families are familiar with my habit of sleeping late and woke up very early. May be I talked too much about the virtue of waking up and starting the day early, or perhaps I made too much noise in the early hours of the morning or maybe they were trying to beat the traffic, my Chinese neighbour staying to the west of our house went to their “kedai pakaian” di Pasar Chow Kit before 6 a.m. After the first week , they came back and reported that people who sell clothes in places as far as Seremban has frequented their shop in the early morning hours as they can go back to Seremban early to open their shops. Few months later, coincident with the fasting month, they told me that they has rented the shop besides theirs and they were then running a 2 door shop operation.. 2 years later they came back and reported to me that they were running a 3 door shop operation.. For quite some times my better half and yours truly did wonder why was it that particular neighbour always gave me clothes for Baju Melayu and her for Baju Kurung for Hari Raya for some years.... until my better half told them that I bought a 7 year old Mercedes E230 cash (pssst.. by virtue of reaching 50 yers old.. yours truly did have some withdrawal from EPF for that E230).

Another Chinese neighbour (husband and wife) , which are staying to the north have been seen to leave their at 6 a.m for quite sometime now, thank to the good word of that successful neighbour. They operate a motor car workshop somewhere in Puchong. Their workshop is in a rather obscured place not easily accessible and they have been surviving by words of mouth. Words get around that they are doing very much better now as many motorist dropped by at early hours to have their cars repaired. The customers like to come to the workshop as their working hours will be least affected.

I could not figure out why is it that it is easier for some non-Muslim to practice the tradition, hadith of the Prophet, as compared to our Muslim brothers. You can see it in our daily life.. Malay foodstalls selling food for breakfast open up their business very much later than the Mamak and the Indian.

It was the other day that my better half told me a story about her brother’s best friend. This guy was frequently being reminded by his mother not to clip/cut fingernails at night.. cos she said the one who clip/cut fingernails may meet “bloody demise"(mati berdarah). However that guy always brushed off his mother telling her how come you (his mother) are so superstitious, still believe the ancient stories.. I am not sure whether there is any Prophet tradition that forbade us from clipping/cutting fingernails at night.. but the guy coincidently met his demise in a very bad motorcycle accident. Googles only produce documentation that relate this to superstition.. May be it is..

Motocycle accident image from Google

Should any reader of this entry found any hadith on prohibition to clip/cut fingernails at night and prohibition of sleeping after Subuh prayer; you are very welcome to quote it in your comment to this post.. Please!
Many thanks to Yohteh's for his comments which include ...Malay readers are urged share the readings .. on clipping fingernails .. here and on sleeping after subuh ..here

Have a wonderful day..