Recommended Tips for the Last 10 Nights

Presented by: Sister Safiyyah

Below are just some tips on what is recommended for a Muslim to do during the last ten nights of Ramadan.

Source: http://islamawareness.net/Ramadhan/last10.html

1. Take a Vacation for Allah We take a break from our jobs for almost everything in life. Why not this time to focus on worshipping 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 acts of worship, not having to worry about getting to work the following day. This will also make I`tikaf easy. 2. I`tikaf It was a practice of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the mosque for I`tikaf. In I`tikaf one makes a spiritual retreat in the mosque all the time, performing various forms of dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), like doing extra Salat, recitation and study of the Qur’an. One does not go outside the mosque except in case of emergencies. I`tikaf of a shorter period of time, like one night, a day or a couple of days is encouraged as well. 3. Make This Special Du'a 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: اَللَّهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ ، تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي Allahumma innaka 'affuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu 'anni' " 'Say: O Allah, You are Oft-Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.'" [Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmidhi]. 4. Recite the Qur’an Perhaps one can choose Surahs or passages from the Quran which one has heard in Taraweeh this past Ramadan to recite. On attending a class for Qur’anic recitation, this is a great time to put one’s knowledge into practice. 5. Get Your Sins Wiped Out Abu Hurairah quoted Allah’s Messenger as saying: “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.” [Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim]. 6. 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. This latter feeling should make it easier to seek Allah's sincere forgiveness when invoking Allah and supplicating to Him in these blessed nights. 7. Make Long, Sincere and Deep Du'as One of the best times to do this is during the last part of the night. Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) quoted the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) as saying: “When the last one-third of the night remains, our Lord, the Glorious One descends towards the lower heaven and proclaims: Is there anyone supplicating to Me, so that I grant his supplication? Is there anyone begging of Me for anything so that and I grant him his wish? Is there anyone who seeks My forgiveness, so that I forgive him?” [Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim]. This means for instance, waking up one hour before Suhoor (pre-dawn meal) time to invoke Allah for anything and everything is something recommendable. This can be done using the Du`as (supplications) recorded in the Sunnah, but one is also allowed to say Du`a in one’s own language, with sincerity and conviction. 8. Have Iftar with the Family If you've spent Iftar time on weekdays in your cubicle at work alone with a couple of dates, now is the last few days you'll have this Ramadan to spend with your family. Use it wisely. 9. Take the Family to Taraweeh Have your spouse and kids missed Taraweeh most of Ramadan because you weren't 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. 10. Attend the Du'a After the Completion of the Qur’anic Recitation Almost all the mosques where the Imam aims to finish an entire reading of the Qur’an in Taraweeh prayers in Ramadan will now be approaching the end of the task in these last ten nights. They may try to end on one of the odd nights and read the Du`a’ at the end of reading the Qur’an. Attend this particular night's Taraweeh prayer with your family. See if you can attend different mosques’ Taraweeh prayers the night they finish reading the Qur’an.