In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
As we approach the last 10 days of Ramadhan, hoping to witness Laylatul Qadr, I am reminded of my beloved sister who passed away about 3 weeks ago and so did not get to see Ramadhan this year. She died 3 days after her last message to me, 'Alhamdulillah! Today, I am healthy!!'
It comforted me knowing how much she loved Qur'an, read Qur'an and taught recitation of the Qur'an, and most of our discussions lately were about Qur'an. May Allah give her the Qur'an as her companion who will be with her till the Day of Judgment. May Allah shower her, both my parents, and all the Muslims that have gone before us with His mercy, and join all of us in the highest Paradise, Al-Firdaus. Ameen.
There is no doubt we will soon follow them. We don't know if we will get to complete Ramadhan this year. If we do, we don't know if we will get to see Ramadhan next year. One day, sooner than we think, the angel of death will take hold of our souls and we will not be able to do anything about it.
إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ عِندَهُۥ عِلْمُ ٱلسَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ ٱلْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلْأَرْحَامِ ۖ وَمَا تَدْرِى نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا ۖ وَمَا تَدْرِى نَفْسٌۢ بِأَىِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۢ[Qur'an, Luqman 31:34]
Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
So don't waste time. Capture the moment, say 'Alhamdulillah' for this moment and for all the moments before this, ask Allah for forgiveness and ask those you have wronged for their forgiveness.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ ٱللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ ﴿٣﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَوٰةِ فَـٰعِلُونَ ﴿٤﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ ﴿٥﴾ إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ﴿٦﴾ فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ ﴿٧﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ ﴿٨﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٰتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ﴿٩﴾ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثُونَ ﴿١٠﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ ﴿١١﴾[Qur'an Mu'minun 23:1-11]
Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (1) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive (2) And they who turn away from ill speech (3) And they who are observant of zakah (4) And they who guard their private parts (5) Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed - (6) But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors - (7) And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive (8) And they who carefully maintain their prayers - (9) Those are the inheritors (10) Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally. (11)
Certainly, don't spare any moment during these last 10 nights with things other than worshiping and thanking Allah for the countless blessings, and seeking His forgiveness.
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.' (Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu 'annee).(Ahmad, ibn Majah, Tirmidhi).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) ascended the minbar and said: "Ameen, Ameen, Ameen." It was said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, why did you do that?" He said, "Jibreel said to me, `May Allah rub his nose in the dust, that person who Ramadhan comes and his sins are not forgiven,' and I said, Ameen'. Then he said, `May Allah rub his nose in the dust, that person who lives to see his parents grow old, one or both of them, but he does not enter Paradise,' and I said, `Ameen'. Then he said, `May Allah rub his nose in the dust, that person in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send blessings upon you,' and I said, `Ameen.'" [Tirmidhi and Ahmad]
The secret of the last 10 nights of Ramadhan is the hope of finding Laylatul Qadr. Truly impoverish is the one who does not have the desire to find this night.
Allah, through His kindness to His beloved Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wassallam), and his Ummah, the last nation which Allah called the best nation raised to mankind, gives this night.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ ﴿١﴾ وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ ﴿٢﴾ لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ ﴿٣﴾ تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ ﴿٤﴾ سَلَـٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ ﴿٥(Qur'an, Al-Qadr 97:1-5)
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree. (1) And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? (2) The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. (3) The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. (4) Peace it is until the emergence of dawn. (5)
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time. (Muslim)
Any good deed done on this night such as prayers, reciting the Qur'an, remembering Allah, and so on is better than acting for one thousand months which do not contain the night of Qadr. Unlike the previous nations, we don't have a long life span to perform a huge amount of worship. Therefore, we should devote ourselves in worship during these last 10 nights.
This is a good time to take a vacation from work so you can focus on Allah with various forms of worship (e.g. learning and reciting the Qur'an, memorizing some Qur'an and hadith, more and longer prayers, making lots of du'a, dhikr, put into practice your knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith, contemplating and reflecting on the meaning of the verses of the Qur'an, read a book on the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace--his life and his characteristics to increase your love for him) and i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) at the masjid. A woman may designate a place in her home for i'tikaf. If you are married you should get the permission of your husband to perform i'tikaf.
It was the practice of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to spend the last 10 days and nights of Ramadhan in the masjid for i'tikaf.
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, and inshaa Allah this habit will stay with you after Ramadhan.
Ask yourself what you really want from Allah. Make a list of each and everything that you want that is lawful, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it deals with this world or not. The All Generous loves our asking Him. Ask Allah to give you those things and develop a work plan to get those things. Make long and sincere du'as with conviction every night. This can be done using the Du'as of the Sunnah or in your own language. The best thing to ask Allah is what He asks from us--ask Allah that we become firm in our slavehood, become firm in acknowledging His Lordhord and the rights of His Lordhood.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
If you ask Allah for Paradise, then ask him for Al-Firdaus, for it is the highest part of Paradise, in the middle of Paradise, and from it spring the rivers of Paradise, and above it is the (Mighty) Throne of the Most Merciful.
One of the best times to ask Allah for anything is during the last part of the night.
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) 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).
This means we should strive to wake up an hour or two before suhur and devote ourselves in worship and supplication.
Don't forget your family. Have iftar together and take them to taraweeh and qiyamu lail (night prayers) on these last 10 days. Put your regular work aside and bond with your family.
Don't forget the poor and the needy. Increase your charity. This is a great time to pay your zakat on your wealth and zakat al-fitr.
Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) 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).
Choose one night to evaluate yourself and your situation and think about where you want to go for the next 12 months. Then take action. For example, if you haven't memorized Qur'an, ask yourself what prevented you from doing so and adopt a plan to remove the barriers and put a working schedule of memorizing the Qur'an. Don't say, "I can't." If there is a will there is a way and Allah alone gives success. So ask Allah. Nothing is too big for Allah.
May Allah forgive all our sins and make us witness Laylatul Qadr. Ameen.
Please don't forget us and the entire Ummah in your prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
No comments:
Post a Comment