The Last Ten Nights and Days of Ramadan…( The Grand Finale)

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– The Last Ten Nights and Days of Ramadan…

In
this blessed month of Ramadan, we have now come to the grand finale – the last
ten days of Ramadan that are even more blessed than the rest of Ramadan. In it
is a night that Quran tells us is better than 1000 months (yes, months – not
days).

The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed
month which Allah has enjoined you to fast, during which the gates of heaven
are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the rebellious devils are
chained up. In it there is a night which is better than a thousand months, and
whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.” Narrated by al-Nasa’i,
2106; Ahmad, 8769. classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 999.

So,
in preparation for the grand finale, here is a checklist of some of the things
that we can all do to make the remaining days of Ramadan work to our advantage
–

1) Get in high gear for the next 10 nights and days –

Time
is of the essence. Every moment counts. Whatever you need to do for the next
ten days to make the most in Ibada, good deeds, reciting Quran, dhikr, making
dua, etc., rewards are going to be multiplied. No one knew about the importance
of these days more than the prophet (saws). Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from
‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the last ten days of Ramadan
began, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would stay up at
night, wake his family and tie his lower garment tight. According to Ahmad and
Muslim: he would strive hard in worship during the last ten nights of Ramadan
as he did not do at other times.

Imam
Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said “When Ramadan would come, the Messenger
of Allah would say,

Verily, the month of Ramadan has come to you
all. It is a blessed month, which Allah has obligated you all to fast. During
it the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hell are closed and the
devils are shackled. In it there is a night that is better than one thousand
months. Whoever is deprived of its good, then he has truly been deprived.)”
An-Nasa’i recorded this same Hadith.

If
we lose this opportunity, we get our next opportunity next year – assuming we
are still around and are in good health and shape to make use of it. Even if we
are – we have the past years’ sins on our shoulders and life’s normal trials
and tribulations to face the coming year. So, there is no better time to ask
Allah to make all that easier than NOW.

2) Get a Quran and recite as often as you can –

A
few lines on this post can’t even come close to explaining the benefits and
virtues of Quran. It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that the Quran will
intercede for those who read it at night, as Ahmad (6626) narrated from
‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said:

Fasting and the Quran will intercede for a
person on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say, ‘O Lord, I deprived him of
his food and his desires during the day, so let me intercede for him.’ And the
Quran will say: ‘I deprived him of his sleep at night so let me intercede for
him.’ Then they will intercede.” Narrated by Ahmad; classed as saheeh by
al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jami’, no. 3882.

Narrated
Abu Musa: The Prophet said,

The example of a believer who recites the
Qur’an is that of a citron (a citrus fruit) which is good in taste and good in
smell. And the believer who does not recite the quran is like a date which has
a good taste but no smell. And the example of an impious person who recites the
Qur’an is that of Ar-Rihana (an aromatic plant) which smells good but is bitter
in taste. And the example of an impious person who does not recite the quran is
that of a colocynth which is bitter in taste and has no smell.” (Book #93,
Hadith # 649)

As
is stated in the hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah
be pleased with them both), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said:

Whoever recites ten aayaat (verses) in
qiyaam will not be recorded as one of the forgetful. Whoever recites a hundred
aayaat (verses) in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the devout, and whoever
prays a thousand aayaat (verses) in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the
muqantareen (those who pile up good deeds).” (Reported by Abu Dawood and Ibn
Hibbaan. It is a hasan report. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 635).

3) If your sins are holding you to move forward, this is the time to get them
forgiven –

First
the bad news – In Musnad Ahmad it is narrated that Thawbaan said: The Messenger
of Allah (SAWS) said:

A man is deprived of provision (Rizq)
because of the sins that he commits.’” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4022, classed
as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah).

And
now for the good news –

It
was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr
in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous
sins.”

4) What to say on Laylat al-Qadr –

One
of the best dua’s that can be recited on Laylat al-Qadr is that which the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught ‘A’ishah (may Allah
be pleased with her). It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who classed it as saheeh,
that ‘A’ishah said: I said: “O Messenger of Allah, If I know which night is
Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say?” He said: “Say: Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun
tuhibb al-‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni (O Allah, You are All-Forgiving and You love
forgiveness so forgive me).”

5) Get in the class of the Pious People –

Allah
has described the pious as follows (interpretation of the meaning):

They used to sleep but little by night
(invoking their Lord (Allah) and praying, with fear and hope). [Quran: Surah
Adh-Dhariyat (17)]

And in the hours before dawn, they were
(found) asking (Allah) for forgiveness, [Quran: Surah Adh-Dhariyat (18)]

6) Finally……

Think
of all that you need to ask Allah for and ask Him now. If you haven’t before,
this is the time to connect with Him and feel closer to Him. And when you do
during these last ten nights and days of this Ramadan, you would want to do
this again and again – even after the month is over.

And
finally, when you are in a state of prayers and worship, please open your heart
for others as well and please do remember your brothers and sisters in your
prayers. Remember what the Prophet said:

“The supplication that gets the quickest
answer is the one made by one Muslim for another in his absence.” Reported by
Abu Daw’ud and Tirmidhi

May
we all make the most of the last ten nights and days of Ramadan…