As we enter the last third of Ramadan, our time to benefit from its spiritual blessings is coming to an end. These final days are the most blessed of all, and these nights contain the secret of Laylatul-Qadr, the Night of Power. This is the time to step up our efforts, because we don’t know when the moment of divine forgiveness will be.
Laylatul-Qadr is the tremendous and blessed night on which our destinies are decided for the coming year, the rewards of Allah are abundant, prayers are answered, and our sins are fogvien.
“The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descent therein by permission of their Lord, with all decrees. Peace it is until the rising of dawn.” [Qur’an 97:3-5]
Not knowing when the Night of Power will fall is one of the secrets of Ramadan, so we should spend a portion of every night in worship. This is particularly important during of the odd nights in the last ten days.
There is no specific worship for this night, but every act of prayer will be greatly rewarded.
“Whoever stays up and prays on Laylatul-Qadr out of faith and in the hop of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” [Hadith, Bukhari and Muslim]
Strive to pray Isha and Fajr in congregation, perform Tahajjud and spend a portion of the night alone in sincere repentence.
“Say: ‘Oh Allah, you are pardoning and you love to pardon, so pardon me,’ (Allahumma innaka ‘ afuwwun tuhibbul ’ afwa fa ‘ fu ‘ anni).” [Hadith, Tirmidhi]
I’tikaf is a great act of Ibadah that involves entering a state of seclusion, away from all worldly distractions, where you can focus solely on Allah for ten days and ten nights. If you’re unable to perform I’tikaf for the full ten days, just do it for as long as you can. You can even make intention of I’tikaf every time you go to the mosque, providing that you focus solely on your Ibadah.
The Prophet Muhammad was the most generous person, and he was even more generous during Ramadan. In these final days, follow his Sunnah and give to charity while there’s still enough time to benefit from the increased rewards available in this holy month.
If your annual Zakat is due, make sure you pay it before the month ends and give voluntarily to charity as much as possible in order to gain the pleasure of Allah.
Find out how much you owe with our simple Zakat calculator.
With 20 million people likely to starve to death before the end of the year, we must intervene now. Make the most of Ramadan while it’s still with us, as only Allah knows what is decreed for each and every one of us on the Night of Power.
Now is the time to give.
