Ramadan night of devotion worth a 1,000 months

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19: In this blessed month of Ramadan, we have arrived at the last 10 days of which we should seek refuge in Allah from the Hellfire.

To me this means that we should strive to be obedient to Allah’s commands so as to earn Allah’s pleasure.

To do this we must be devote to His commands during one’s lifetime with the reward being eternal life in the Jennah (Heaven).

After all, our life and our death should be for the pleasure of Allah, whom commands us to submit to His will.

Allah’s will is not hard to follow, since He guides us to a goodly life whilst here on earth, doing righteous deeds towards our fellowmen which leads to a goodly outcome for our own souls.

The guidance Allah has given us to achieve Jennah is contained in the Holy Quran which Muslims refer to as ‘The Book’.  Allah says: “This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah. Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what we have provided for them; and who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time and (in their hearts) has the assurance of the Hereafter.” 

The Qur’an deals with the ultimate goal of mankind. Allah has clearly explained the goal and aim of our lives as explained in the Qur’an: “I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me”.

As the Qur’an, the book of guidance was sent down during the month of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate with joyous gratefulness the Mercy of Allah for giving us such clear and distinct guidance on how to live our lives and attain the ultimate of eternal happiness. After all, any product, appliance or vehicle that one purchases comes with a manual.

The manual instructs us how to assemble it and maintain it for longevity and ultimate performance during its lifetime — it’s almost a guarantee and if we don’t follow the manual and the product breaks or malfunctions, the manufacture indemnifies all responsibility and points to us, the owner the blame.

So this analysis can be likened to the guidance of Allah — if one does not follow the guidelines provided in His book – we only have ourselves to blame when the end result is not good.

For those who follow the Quran, Allah says, “They are on (true) guidance, from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper”(2:5).

The last 10 days of Ramadan are more blessed than even the others, as well Allah in His mercy has given us a night during the last part of Ramadan, where He tells us is better than 1,000 months.

Can you imagine 1,000 months for devotion of one night  (do the calculation) Allah is indeed merciful!

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh 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. The night is Laylat al-Qadr, also known as the Night of Power.

It is the most blessed night of the year; on this special night the Holy Qur’an was revealed by the Angel Gabriel in its entirety to Prophet Muhammad.

One reason this night is referred to as the Night of Power is due to the increase in the amount of reward gained by worship performed on this particular night in comparison to any other throughout the whole year — making it more powerful.

One should endeavour to make Taraweeh prayer (special prayers after Isha during Ramadan) in congregation on this night of which the exact date is unknown, except it occurs during the last part of Ramadan.

In closing, I stress that we take full advantage of Allah’s mercy during these last 10 days, time is of the essence, we won’t get another opportunity of this magnitude until next year and who knows if we will even be here; since no man does the hour of their appointed time to die.

Let’s read the Qur’an and recite it with fervour as there are great benefits and virtues of doing so — there is a hadith that reports the Qur’an will intercede for those who read it at night, that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Fasting and the Qur’an 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 Qur’an will say: “I deprived him of his sleep at night so let me intercede for him. Then they will intercede.” narrated from Abd-Allah ibn Amr.

Time is of the essence for benefiting from the virtues of Ramadan, so my brothers and sisters may we all make the most of the last ten nights and days of Ramadan.  After all “Which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?”

Ramadan Mubarak!