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Satanic lies about the Night of Power (Al Qadr) 4
“16
things you can do on the Night of Power
Abdul Malik
Mujahid
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 Ramadan (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 Ramadan 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 Ramadan 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.
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 Ramadan
to spend with your family. Use it wisely.
12. Take
the family to Tarawih
Have your spouse and kids
missed Tarawih most of Ramadan 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 Ramadan 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.”
Your Comments
turiya, maryland,
usa - wrote on 11/9/2004 11:14:42 AM
Rating: 
Comment: this is wonderful and will help me plan for
these last few nights, esp. the self-evaluation and
planning, may Allah bless your efforts and your eid
Nasreen, Pakistan
- wrote on 11/8/2004 5:50:26 AM
Rating:
Comment: This article will really help us in making
our last ten days more thought provoking and rationally
towards way of Islam. Inshallah God will help us in
implementing these tips practically. God bless all of us !Jazakallah
khair
Laila Dakmak,
Queens, New York - wrote on 11/6/2004 8:11:10 PM
Rating:
Comment: As Salaamu Alaikum, Thankyou and may Allah
bless you for this beautiful information you provided us
with. Your Sister in Islam
Sheriffdeen Busari,
Nigeria - wrote on 11/5/2004 4:52:04 PM
Rating:
Comment: This is great and marvellous.It's inspiring,
encouraging and alerting. I pray Allah increase you in
knowledge and wisdom and may He make it an evidence for we
the readers and not against us (Amin). JAZAKUMMU LLAHU
KHAYRAN KATHEERA.
Ibrahim Rahman,
United Kingdom - wrote on 11/5/2004 2:58:16 PM
Rating:
Comment: This is brilliant! I really enjoyed reading
this and I have used this for a project which I need to use
for school. Jazak Allah Khairun.
TAIWO BALOGUN,
Nigeria - wrote on 11/5/2004 9:31:48 AM
Rating:
Comment: may ALLAH make us more Ramandam! it's a good
work well done,keep it up!
Shafinaz, Malaysia
- wrote on 11/4/2004 11:51:27 PM
Rating:
Comment: A truly wonderful article that has to be
read by all muslims.
Jennifer, Qatar -
wrote on 11/4/2004 6:38:38 PM
Rating:
Comment: I like your style of writing, it is very
earthy and makes something that seems difficult easy.
Jazakee
Fatimah, North
Carolina (USA) - wrote on 11/4/2004 2:05:57 PM
Rating:
Comment: As Salaamu-Alaikum Wa Rahmutullah Wa
Barakatu, I just wanted to say that the info provided was
very inciteful and very clear and understanding , As muslims
we tend to forget how important Ramadan is , and sometimes
we think that we can wait for the next one to really fulfull
are duties ,but I just want to say after reading all this
information it brought tears to my eyes ,and I pray that
Allah guides us and keeps us on the straight path
fawziyah, nigeria
- wrote on 11/3/2004 5:46:33 AM
Rating:
Comment: salam alaekum thanks so much for your
educative articles they've been really helpful may Allah
help us all as we strive in His path
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