How to determine a lazy person? Perhaps the best way is determining if he woke up for Fajr Salaat or not. If a person can manage to overcome the first hurdle in his day, he will be able to overcome all others. Our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "During your sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your necks. He whispers the following into them: The night is long so keep on sleeping. If the person wakes and praises Allah, then one of the knots is unfastened. And if he performs ablution, the second knot is unfastened. When he prays, all of the knots are unfastened. After that he will be energetic and happy in the morning. Otherwise he would get up listless and grouchy." (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Imam al-Bukhari also records that our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who sleeps until the morning comes, that is, after the time of the dawn prayer. He said: "That is a man whom Satan has urinated into his two ears."

Procrastination and laziness are two of Shaytan's strongest strategies to stop us from performing good deeds. It is necessary for the wise person to take matters into his/her own hand and harness his/her energy in a positive way everyday. The person who breaks the back of Shaytan in the start of the day will not just pass his time day dreaming and in mindless pursuits, he will make sure that every second of his time is spent fruitfully. In winter, Fajr Salaah is much later. So let us break the back of Shaytan and kick-start our day with Salaat!