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} (Al-Qadr 97: 3) Any action done on this night such as reciting the Quran, remembering God, etc. is better than acting for one thousand months which do not contain the Night of Power. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time. (Muslim) Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Look for Laylatul Qadr on an odd-numbered night during the last ten nights of Ramadan. (Al Bukhari) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever prays during the night of Qadr with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins forgiven. (Al Bukhari and Muslim) Here are some tips of things we can do on the Night of Power and the time before and after it. Take a Vacation for Allah (God) 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 worship, not having to worry about getting to work the next day. It will also facilitate doing Itikaf. Do Itikaf (Retreat in Mosque) It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the mosque for Itikaf. Those in Itikaf stay in the mosque all this time, performing various forms of remembering God, like doing extra prayers, recitation and study of the Quran. They do not go outside the mosque except in case of emergencies, therefore, they sleep in the mosque. Their families or the mosque 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. Make This Special Dua Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it? He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me. (Ahmad) The transliteration of this Dua is Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee Recite the Quran Perhaps you can choose chapters or passages from the Quran which you have heard in Taraweeh prayers 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. Reflect on the Meaning of the Quran Choose the latest chapter (s) youve heard in Taraweeh prayers and read their translation and tafseer (interpretation). 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.) Get Your Sins Wiped Out Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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.”(Al Bukhari and Muslim) Dont just pray using the shorter chapters that you know. Try to make your prayers longer, deeper and meaningful. If you are familiar with longer chapters, read the translation and explanation and then pray reciting these chapters, carefully reflecting on the meaning while you pray. Even if you are only familiar with the shorter chapters, read the translation and explanation beforehand, and then pray reflecting on the message of the chapters. 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. Make a Personal Dua List Ask yourself what you really want from God. Make a list of each and everything, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it deals with this world or not. God loves to hear from us. Once this list is ready, you can do three things: - Ask God 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. 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 Gods sincere forgiveness when making the Dua mentioned above. Make Long, Sincere and Deep Duas One of the best times to do this is during the last part of the night. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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?(Al Bukhari & Muslim) That means for instance, waking up one hour before Suhoor (early breakfast) time to ask God 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. Memorize a Different Dua Every Night The duas dont have to be long. They can be just one line. And be sure to know what they mean generally at least, even if you dont 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. Have Iftar with the Family If youve spent Iftar time on weekdays in your cubicle at work alone with a couple of dates, now is the last few days youll have this Ramadan to spend with your family. Use it wisely. Take the Family to Taraweeh Have your spouse and kids missed Taraweeh most of Ramadan because you werent there to drive them to the mosque, which is too far away to walk to? If so, do all of yourselves a favor and bring everyone for Taraweeh in these last ten nights. Attend the Dua After The Completion of Quran Recitation Almost all mosques where the Imam aims to finish an entire reading of the Quran in Taraweeh 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 nights Taraweeh prayer with your family. See if you can attend different mosques Taraweeh prayers the night they finish reading the Quran. Finish Reading a Book on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Read about the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) life, which can increase your love for him and Islam by seeing how much he struggled for Gods sake. It may inspire you to push yourself even harder during these last ten nights. This community is built on sacrifice. Plan for the Next Year Once youve done a self-evaluation, you can plan on where you want to go, at least in the next 12 months. Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is a great night to be thinking about this (without taking away from your worship), since youll 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. To Do List for the Night of Power Make a to do checklist for the 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 in. This will help you avoid wasting your time in unproductive chats which common in the festive atmosphere of mosques at the Night of Power. Source : Soundvision
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:50:28 +0000
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