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Things you can do on the Night of Power
Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is described in the Quran as,
"better than a thousand months" (97:3). Any action done on this
night such as reciting the Quran, remembering Allah, etc. is better
than acting for one thousand months which do not contain the night
of Qadr.
Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last
ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time." (Muslim).
Allah's peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related that the Prophet said:
Look for Laylatul Qadr on an odd-numbered night during the last ten
nights of Ramadaan (Bukhari).
The Prophet said: "Whoever prays during the night of Qadr with faith
and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins
forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim recorded from Abu Huraira).
Here are some tips of things we can do on the Night of Power and the
time before and after it.
1. Take a vacation for Allah
We take a break from our jobs for almost everything in life. Why not
this time to focus on worshiping and thanking our Creator.
If this is not possible at least take a few days off if you can.
This can make it easier to stay awake at night to do extra Ibadah,
not having to worry about getting to work the next day.
It will also facilitate doing Itikaf.
2. Do Itikaf
It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last ten days and
nights of Ramadaan in the masjid for Itikaf.
Those in Itikaf stay in the masjid all this time, performing various
forms of zikr (the remembrance of Allah), like doing extra Salat,
recitation and study of the Quran. They do not go outside the masjid
except in case of emergencies, therefore, they sleep in the masjid.
Their families or the masjid administration takes care of their food
needs.
Itikaf of a shorter period of time, like one night, a day or a
couple of days is encouraged as well. |
3. Make this special Dua
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I asked the Messenger of
Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of
Qadr, what should I say during it?' He said: 'Say: O Allah, You are
pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.' "(Ahmad, Ibn Majah,
and Tirmidhi).
The transliteration of this Dua is "Allahumma innaka `afuwwun
tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee"
4. Recite the Quran
Perhaps you can choose Surahs or passages from the Quran which you
have heard in Tarawih this past Ramadaan to recite.
If you attend a class where the recitation of the Quran is taught,
this is a great time to put your knowledge into practice.
5. Reflect on the meaning of the Quran
Choose the latest Surah or Surahs you've heard in Tarawih and read
their translation and Tafseer. Then think deeply about their meaning
and how it affects you on a personal level.
(If you want to study the Quran with more understanding, check out
Way to the Quran and Access to Quranic Arabic. |
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6. Get your sins wiped out
Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger said: Whoever stands (in
prayer) in Laylatul Qadr while nourishing his faith with
self-evaluation, expecting reward from Allah, will have all of his
previous sins forgiven. [Bukhari and Muslim).
Don't just pray using the shorter Surahs that you know. Try to make
your prayers longer, deeper and meaningful. If you are familiar with
longer Surahs, read the translation and explanation and then pray
reciting these Surahs, carefully reflecting on the meaning while you
pray.
Even if you are only familiar with the shorter Surahs, read the
translation and explanation beforehand, and then pray reflecting on
the message of the Surahs.
This is a good way to develop the habit of concentration, even in
regular prayers, where many of us tend to be fidgety and/or easily
distracted.
7. Make a personal Dua list.
Ask yourself what you really want from Allah. Make a list of each
and everything, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it
deals with this world or not. Allah loves to hear from us. Once this
list is ready, you can do three things:
• Ask Allah to give you those things
• Think about what actions you have taken to get those things
• Develop a work plan to get those things in future.
8. Evaluate yourself.
Ask yourself those questions that need to be asked. Do an evaluation
of where you are and where you are going. Let this evaluation lead
you to feel happiness for the good you have done and remorse for the
bad you have done. (see a short and a long evaluation guide) This
latter feeling should make it easier to seek Allah's sincere
forgiveness when making the Dua mentioned in tip number one above.
9. Make long, sincere and deep Duas
One of the best times to do this is during the last part of the
night.
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet
said: When the last one-third of the night remains, our Lord, the
Glorious One descends towards the heaven of the earth and proclaims:
Who is that who supplicates for Me, and I grant his supplication?
Who is that who begs Me for anything and I grant it to him? And who
is that who seeks My forgiveness, and I forgive him? (Bukhari,
Muslim).
That means for instance, waking up one hour before Suhoor time to
ask Allah for anything and everything you want that is Halal. This
can be done using the Duas of the Sunnah, but also Dua in your own
language, with sincerity and conviction.
For some tips on making Dua please see the article Some personal
Duas you can make.
10. Memorize a different Dua every night
They don't have to be long. They can be just one line. And be sure
to know what they mean generally at least, even if you don't know
the exact translation in English.
You can put them on index cards (or and keep them with you during
the day, glancing at them during work, while driving, waiting in
line, etc.) Then practice them at night in prayer.
11. Have Iftar with the family
If you've spent Iftar time on weekdays in your cubicle at work alone
with a couple of dates, now is the last few days you'll have this
Ramadaan to spend with your family. Use it wisely.
12. Take the family to Tarawih
Have your spouse and kids missed Tarawih most of Ramadaan because you
weren't there to drive them to the Masjid, which is too far away to
walk to? If so, do all of yourselves a favor and bring everyone for
Tarawih in these last ten nights.
13. Attend the Dua after the completion of Quran recitation
Almost all Masjids where the Imam aims to finish an entire reading
of the Quran in Tarawih prayers in Ramadaan will be completing their
recitation in these last ten nights. They may try to end on one of
the odd nights and read the Dua at the end of a reading of the
Quran. Attend this particular night's Tarawih prayer with your
family. See if you can attend different Masjids' Tarawih prayers the
night they finish reading the Quran.
14. Finish reading a book on the Prophet
Read about the Prophet's life, which can increase your love for him
and Islam by seeing how much he struggled for Allah's sake. It may
inspire you to push yourself even harder during these last ten
nights. This community is built on sacrifice. |
15. Plan for the next year
Once you've done a self-evaluation, you can plan on where you want
to go, at least in the next 12 months. Laylatul Qadr is a great
night to be thinking about this (without taking away from your
worship), since you'll Insha Allah, be in a more contemplative
state. You may choose to dedicate one night of power for evaluation
and one night for planning for the next year.
16. To do list for the Night of Power
Make a to do checklist for each Night of Power. This should define
how you would like your night, the one better than a thousand
months, to be used. Pick things from this list and define the
sequence you would like to do things in. This will help you avoid
wasting your time in unproductive chats which common in the festive
atmosphere of Masjids at the Night of Power. |
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By Abdul Malik Mujahid
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