The Night of Decree

Dear brothers and sisters, we are now at the pinnacle of the blessed month of Ramadhan. We have reached the final 10 days and nights of this month, of which one of the nights is worthy of extra worship and consideration.

The imam reminded us of the following hadith which is translated to say:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to seclude himself (in the mosque) during the last ten nights of Ramadan. He would say, “Search for Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree) in the last ten nights of Ramadan.”

This is the time where we begin to feel the sadness of this VIP guest leaving us for another year. Only Allah SWT knows if we will be here to witness another Ramadan and so we need to make on final push in the remaining days to do all we can for our souls.

In these last 10 days we have the Night of Power or Night of Decree. It is mentioned in the Glorious Quran and the imam referenced it in the reminder today.

In Sura Al-Qadr, Allah SWT tell us:

Indeed, we have sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.

The Night of Decree, which is in one of the last ten nights has the potential for providing us with the reward of 1000 months. That’s about 83 years worth of reward. To put that into some sort of perspective, that exceeds the average life expectancy of people living in the UK today. Therefore, logic dictates for any rational person to pursue this reward with all their worth.

The final ten days should be regarded as the home-straight, a final push to achieve the most that can be achieved in this month. So in preparation for this grand finale, here is a checklist of 4 things that we can all do to make the remaining days of Ramadhan work to our advantage:

Firstly, make every moment count. Whether it is in prayer, remembrance, charity or good deeds. These are the days which we should push these habits to another level.

The Prophet (SAWS) set the example as is narrated in the following Hadith:

He would strive hard in worship during the last ten nights of Ramadhan as he did not do at other times.

Secondly, get a Quran and recite as often as you can. There is immense reward for each letter that is recited and there is more reward for those of us who struggle and strive to recite, more than those who are fluent in being able to recite. Alongside that try to ponder over the verses, download or obtain a translation if need be and reflect.

Thirdly, this is the time to get your past sins forgiven. So repent to Allah SWT with sincerity in these final days and inshAllah the repentance of all His sincere creation will be accepted. Make your supplications to Allah SWT detailed, lengthy and without restriction.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that this is the month of forgiveness and we should use this time to recite the following dua as was advised to us by the Prophet SAWS. It is relayed in the following hadith which is translated to say:

‘Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:I asked: “O Messenger of Allah! If I realize Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), what should I supplicate in it?” He (ﷺ) replied, “You should supplicate: Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun, tuhibbul-‘afwa, fa’fu ‘anni (O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness; so forgive me).”

And lastly, it’s to give to charity if you haven’t done so already. Make small consistent acts of charity in these remaining days so that you are guaranteed to have done it in the Night of Power and therefore insh’Allah have it registered and magnified in reward.

Dear brothers and sisters, with this month now nearing it’s end, now is the time to step up in the efforts before the celebration of Eid. Let’s aim to be of those people who are included in the following hadith which is translated to say:

“He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; and he who passes Lailat al-qadr [Night of Decree] in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven.”