Daily Routine of Muhammad (PBUH)

The messenger of salvation to the world humanity, the greatest human being of all time, and the chosen final prophet of Allah Ta’ala is Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He came to this world to remove all lies, lawlessness, stupidity, and the darkness of ignorance by leading mankind to the way of eternal truth, beauty, and peace. Therefore, every moment of this great man’s life has been made by Allah Almighty as an example for us to follow. There is no end to the topics of discussion from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). So, here we are today asking Allah for help discussing a small part of His life. Inshallah, in this article today we will discuss the daily routine of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Knowing about the various activities and practices of His everyday life, may Almighty Allah grant us the ability to lead our lives according to those ideals.  (Ameen)

“Indeed, for those among you who keep hope to meet with Allah and Hereafter, and remember Allah much have the good example to follow in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad PBUH).”  Al Ahzaab: 21

Daily Routine of Muhammad (PBUH)

In the Morning

The daily routine of Prophet Muhammad PBUH would be started with getting up from bed every day. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was instructed by Allah SWT to wake up at midnight to recite the Qur’an and perform Salatul Tahajjud (1). Therefore, He would wake up in the middle of the night and express gratitude to the Almighty by reciting:

الحمدُ لله الذي أحيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أماتَنَا وإليه النُّشُوْر

“All praise is due to Allah, Who resurrected us after we were dead. And towards Him is the resurrection of all.”    Bukhari: 6324

Then, He would recite the last ten verses of Surah Al-Imran (2). Finishing that, He used to do Miswak and perform ablution, and stand for the Tahajjud (3). The prayer of Tahajjud was an additional obligatory duty for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Allah SWT (4). So, the beauty and style of His Tahajjud Salat were unparalleled. In Tahajjud, He used to perform a total of 11 Rakats with a long-time Qiyam, Tilawat, Ruku, Sajdah, and other rituals (5).

After completing Tahajjud, He would sometimes go to Baqiyatul Garqaad and pray to Almighty Allah for His Companions and family members buried there. He used to take a little nap after coming back from there. When the Azan of the Fajr would be given by Hazrat Bilal (RA), the Prophet (PBUH) would get up and pray two Rakats. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) signified these two Rakats at dawn as better than this world and what it contains (6).

After that, He used to talk to His wife until it was time for the obligatory prayer. And if His wife fell asleep, He would lie by His right side till the time of prayer (7). When it was time for Fajr (obligatory), He would sometimes perform ablution and sometimes get out for the Fajr prayer to the masjid without doing that (8). In the Fajr prayer, He used to recite sixty to a hundred verses in each Rakat (9). Then He would sit facing the companions and recite various Tasbihs for a long time.

From Sunrise to Salatul Zohar

After Fajr time had passed, shortly after sunrise Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would return home after praying four Rakat of Salat Ad-Doha. In the hadith, the importance of the two Rakat Salat of Salat Ad-Duha has been described as equivalent to a complete Hajj and Umrah (10). On Returning home He would greet His wives with Salam and talk to them for a while. Then, when it was time for breakfast, He would ask the wives if there was anything to eat. If there was food, He would eat and if not, He would fast that day. He would also like to fast regularly every Monday and Thursday (11). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) never slept during this time after Fajr.

In the daily routine of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, we find Him officially starting His day at this time by attending Masjid An-Nabawi and offering two Rakats of Salat. Whenever He entered the mosque, He used to pray two Rakat. So, He also instructs us to do the same (12). There He would handle the responsibilities of various state functions. From there He would regularly visit the houses of various neighbors and relatives to inquire about them. During this period, He often conducted special programs for women to give them guidance on various issues. When it was time for lunch, He used to come back home and take it.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to take a power nap after taking lunch. When it was time for Zohar, after performing four Rakats, He would go to the mosque again and perform the obligatory Rakats. Until Asr, He used to supervise various state functions, give necessary instructions, and handle various state and social functions.

Read Also: The Best Speakers in the Sight of Allah

From Salatul Asr to Going to Bed

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) always used to offer Asr prayer as soon as the time started. Therefore, He would consider those who perform the Asr prayer late as hypocrites. However, after finishing the prayer, He used to go out for da’wah. He used to travel to the markets of Madinah, looking for businesses and merchants. After completing these tasks, we get Him returning home quickly most often and spending quality time with family in the daily routine of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). During this time, He used to take care of His family members and engage in pleasant conversation with them.

Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to get out for Salatul Maghrib immediately after the Azaan. On the day He fasted, He would break His fast immediately after sunset. So, He also commands us to take the Iftar immediately after sunset (13). By the end of Iftar, He prayed two Rakats and went to the mosque to perform the obligatory Rakats of Maghrib. Getting finished with the Salat, Tasbih, and Du’a, He would return home again. Immediately after the Salat, He would finish the dinner.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to spend time with family till the time of Isha. At the time of Isha, sometimes He used to perform the congregation of Isha early and Sometimes with some delay. In particular, He would not specify any time to start the congregation of Isha. The congregation of Isha would depend on the presence of Companions, His other business, or other important emergencies (14). And after finishing Isha, He would go to bed as soon as possible. It is said in the hadith: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) disliked sleeping before Isha and talking after Isha (15).

Daily Routine of Muhammad (PBUH) Before Going to Sleep

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would not sleep until He would recite Surah As-Sajdah and Surah Al-Mulk (16). Then He would recite the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah (17). Before going to bed the prophet (PBUH) used to recite ‘Subhan Allah’ and ‘Alhamdulillah’ 33 times, and ‘Allahu Akbar’ 34 times (18).

His habit of reciting Ayatul Kursi, Surah Kafirun, Istighfar, etc. before sleeping is also mentioned in various hadiths. Before going to sleep, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to recite Surah Ikhlas, Falaq, and Nas three times together and blew on his palms and wiped his head, face, and front of his body (19). He would then lie down on the bed, placing his right hand under his right cheek, and recite before falling asleep:

ﺍﻟﻠَّﻬُﻢَّ ﺑِﺎﺳْﻤِﻚَ ﺃَﻣُﻮﺕُ ﻭَﺃَﺣْﻴَﺎ

“O Allah!  By your name I die (sleep) and by your name I shall live (wake).”  (Bukhari, Hadith: 6324)

 

So, the daily routine of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) before going to sleep was full of submission, gratitude, and worship to the Almighty. At night, when bathing was obligatory due to sexual intercourse, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would take a bath and go to sleep again after the intercourse. And sometimes He would only perform ablution before going to sleep and take the bath in the middle of the night after getting up for Tahajjud (20).

Read Also: The Concept of Worship in Islam

Conclusion 

By the infinite mercy of Almighty Allah, we have tried to highlight here the general daily routine of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) according to the narrations from some of the Sahih Hadiths. But apart from these, He had several daily tasks. For example, Dawah, traveling to different places, meeting with the Companions, giving various religious instructions, teaching various Du’a and knowledge, receiving the revealed verses of the Qur’an and teaching them to the Companions, etc. May Allah Almighty forgive us for all the errors and deviations in this presentation. And also give us the Tawfeeq to shape our lives according to the great ideals of the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW, the messenger of peace in this world and liberation in the hereafter.  (Ameen)

Footnotes:

1. Surah Al-Muzzammil: Verse no- (1-4)
2. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1833
3. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1136
4. Surah Al-Israa: Verse no- 79
5. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1123
6. Sahih Muslim:  Hadith no- 725
7. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1161
8. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1146
9. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 599
10. Tirmidhi: Hadith no- 586
11. Tirmidhi: Hadith no- 747
12. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 1167
13. Abu Dawud: Hadith no- 2353
14. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 565
15. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 568
16. Tirmidhi: Hadith no- 2892
17. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 4008
18. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 3705
19. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 5017
20. Sahih Bukhari: Hadith no- 286,287,288

Note: The above references to Hadith order are taken from Sunnah.com.

More on Sunnah: