Winter: Best Season For a Believer

Winter: Best Season For a Believer 

The righteous people of the past would rejoice with the approach of winter. Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali mentions its virtues in his book Lata’if Al-Ma’arif (pg. 276)

Winter is the best season for the believer because Allah strengthens his practice by making worship easy for him. The believer can easily fast during the day without suffering from hunger and thirst. The days are short and cold, and he doesn’t feel the hardship of fasting.

As for praying at night, due to winter’s long nights, one can have his share of sleep and then wake up to pray. He can recite the Qur’an that he usually does in a day while having enough time to sleep. So, it becomes possible to fulfill the interests of both – his religion and the comfort of his body.

Abdullah Bin Mas’ud said: “Welcome to winter! Blessings descend in it. Its nights are long to pray, and its days are short to fast.”

When it was winter, Ubayd Bin Umayr would say: “O people of the Qur’an! Your nights are now long for you to recite. So, recite! Your days are now short for you to fast. So, fast! Night prayer in the winter equals fasting during the day in the summer.” This is why Mu’adh wept on his deathbed. He said: “I weep because I will miss the thirst I felt when I fasted, praying at night during the winter, and sitting knee to knee with the scholars during the gatherings of knowledge.”