“We have indeed revealed this message in the Night of Power: And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the Angels and the spirit (Jibreel) by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace! This until the rise of Morn!” [Qur’an – Chapter 97]

Laylatul Qadr – a night worth 1,000 months.

Of the manifestations of Allah’s SWT mercy is that He has given us seasons of worship to exert ourselves; the best month of the year is Ramadan, the best day of the week is Friday and the best night of the year is Laylatul Qadr ‘The Night of Power’.

So what can you do to ensure you reap all the rewards it has to offer?

Here are five simple tips to help you refocus.

1. Do not let your performance from the first 20 days affect your last ten days.
If you sincerely feel you didn’t give the first 20 days your all, don’t give up. This is your opportunity to redeem yourself and start afresh – renew your intention and perfect your worship.

2. Read the tafsir of Surat al-Qadr to understand the opportunity that is available.
Allah SWT has revealed an entire chapter called Surat-al Qadr alongside an entire paragraph in Surat al-Dukhan about this night; this highlights its inherent significance.

Some virtues that make this night so special include:

• This night has many names, one of which is ‘Laylatul Mubarakah’ which translates to the night of blessings. The term barakah means to extend the usefulness of something or to magnify it – meaning the worship of this one night is the equivalent worship of 83.3 years.
  This is the greatest blessing!
• We are the only ummah to be gifted with Laylatul Qadr.
• Angels descend – we know that the angels descending is synonymous with the Mercy of Allah SWT descending. When performing any act of worship, Allah SWT commands us to dress in our best clothes. So during these nights we should especially dress nicely in anticipation for Laylatul Qadr. This is the psychology of worship – if we dress as if we are going to meet the angels we will worship as if we are going to meet the angels.

3. Follow the sunnah
This is the time to exert yourself! Aisha RA narrates, “when the last ten days of Ramadan began, the Prophet PBUH would tighten his waist-wrapper, spend his nights in prayer, and wake his family” [Muslim].

If the Prophet PBUH – a man who was guaranteed paradise, exerted himself this much, to the point he spent the majority of his nightly hours in worship – who are we to not take this opportunity seriously? Allah SWT has made it very simple for us: The Prophet PBUH said, “whoever spends this night in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward will be forgiven his previous sins” [Bukhari, Muslim].

There are two conditions for your sins to be forgiven – belief and hope for the reward, that’s it.

Increase in your recitation of the Qur’an, increase in your night prayer (qiyam), increase in your dhikr, increase in your repentance and most importantly continue in making the dua:

“O Allah! You are Forgiving, you love forgiveness, so forgive me” [Tirmidhi].

4. Review your dua list.
One of the virtues of Laylatul Qadr is that it is the “Night of Decree” [44:4] and as the Prophet PBUH said “nothing can change the Divine decree except dua” [Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, Tirmidhi].

The subject of decree is a deeper discussion; however the essence is that everything is decided on that night for the upcoming year. Therefore – your death may very well be announced for next year, meaning this may be your last Ramadan.

Do you want to be in worship when this decree is determined? Such that, perhaps a calamity was destined and you were able to change it through your sincere dua?

5. Keep husn al-thann bi Allah SWT
Have good expectations from Allah SWT – when you ask remember you’re asking the Most Generous, the Most Merciful. If you ask for the best, He will give you the best!

Don’t worry about which night it is, don’t be searching for the signs. If you knew for sure this was your last Ramadan, if you knew certainly that paradise was up for grabs – wouldn’t you sprint for it no matter what it takes?

Our observations can always be wrong, just be sincere and push yourself in the last ten nights in hope for the reward!

Allahumma balighna Laylatul Qadr!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eva Maleken

Twenty-one year old, fifth-year-and-counting student with a strong passion for the sciences, youth empowerment and has big dreams for this ummah.

Originally printed in Podium Magazine Edition 1, published in 2017.