That’s it! The last ten days of Ramadan are upon us. If you’re someone who is lagging behind in accomplishing your Ramadan goals, here is some good news for you, you still have the chance to benefit from the immense blessings of Ramadan and seek salvation before the month comes to an end. The final days of Ramadan give us an incredible opportunity to overcome our spiritual shortcomings and rectify our mistakes.
The principle of Islam in judging deeds is simple. The Prophetﷺ said, “Verily, deeds are only judged by their endings.” (Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2898, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 112)
One of the distinguishing features of Ramadan is the most important night of the year i.e Laylatul Qadr. Sheikh Al-Azhari says “One night’s worship is equivalent to 1,000 months – that’s 83.3 years. So everyone must make an effort to look for it.” Prophet Muhammadﷺ exerted himself more spiritually during this period a prominent act was going into isolation in itikaf to dedicate his ﷺ time to worship.
Here are some of the things that you can do to end your Ramadan in the most effective way.
Revival of intention:
Take a deep breath, relax, and acknowledge that you cannot do anything alone. You need Allahﷻ, you need his help and support to give you the ability to make the most of your days.
Focus on what? Not when?
Instead of using your energy in looking for ‘physical signs’ of laylatul Qadr, focus on how big of a night it is. This will help you to channel your time and efforts into making the most of your days. It is said that whenever the last ten days of ramadan is approached, the Prophetﷺ would tighten his waist and bring the nights alive, which indicates how he would exhaust his efforts in gaining the most out of that period and remain awake all night worshiping Allahﷻ.
Do you know what something important happens during Laylatul Qadr? It’s not about the serenity or angels descending from the heavens. It’s not even about the angels covering all the space between the sky and the Earth. Rather the most important event on laylatul qadr is you worshiping Allahﷻ. Let that sink in.
Ite’qaaf: Have some moments of seclusion with Allahﷻ. It is a wonderful time to reflect, increase the acts of worship, gain one’s religious knowledge and seek closeness to Allahﷻ, etc. Ite’qaaf is one of the most effective ways to reconnect with Allahﷻ. Sunnah is to do it for the last ten days but if you can’t then the least can be done for 24 hours. Sisters, you can do it too, in the comfort of your homes. Hafsa Bint Sireen had her own masjid at her home. Choose the most secluded spot at your home, give it a nice clean, spread the prayer mat and you’re good to go for ite’qaaf.
Best Dua for the period: Once Aishaؓ asked Prophet Muhammadﷺ what dua she should make if she found Laylat al-Qadr, he said:
Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee
“O Allah, You are pardoning and generous. You love to forgive, so forgive me.”
Have you ever wondered why the Prophetﷺ gave her just this short dua and not handed her a long page of duas? That’s because maghfirah is the door to Allah’s pleasure, it is the door to Paradise. The idea is to not only seek the forgiveness of Allah ﷻ but also to get all our sins wiped out and receive a clean slate. Besides this, make your personalized list of duas, including your loved ones, and don’t forget to remember the ummah in your heartfelt prayers.
Don’t underestimate the power of the day: As much as the last ten nights are important, the days hold the same importance. Days are not for messing around, sleeping like a log, or preparing food. Get yourself into ibadah mode from the day itself. Proper conduct during the day gives a believer the strength to stand in prayers at night.
Menstruating women: Too many sisters feel upset whenever they get their periods during the last ten days of Ramadan. This is anything but natural and hence shouldn’t be felt bad about. We get wonderful guidance from seerah in this matter. When Ayeshaؓ set about for hajj, she got her period. This made her upset and she started crying, Prophetﷺ saw her crying and enquired about the matter. When she told him she gotten her period, Prophetﷺ comforted her and said that it is something that Allahﷻ has decreed for the daughter of Adam and she can do everything except tawaf. So the first tip is not to get upset or feel guilty. Submitting to the will of Allahﷻ no matter how much we do not want it is the highest form of obedience. If you’re menstruating you can do everything except fasting and praying salah. So make your duas, have conversations with Allahﷻ read Qur’an, do zikr, listen to Islamic lectures, etc. Even during menstruation, you can very well take care of your spiritual health. Focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t.
Reconnecting with the Qur’an: The key to getting close to Allahﷻ is the Qu’ran. The Prophetﷺ said that the Qu’ran is the rope of Allahﷻ, on one side you have Allah, and on the other side you yourself. One may wonder how much time should be given to Qu’ran in our lives. First of all, there is nothing like too much Qu’ran and the most important thing is to have as much Qu’ran as required to have an impact on our lives. Let’s take a look into the lives of the companions of the Prophetﷺ to understand this better.
Once a sahabiؓ asked another sahabi, “How much time is between suhoor and dawn”? The other companionؓ replied, “About 50 ayahs”. Similarly, there is another hadith where a sahabi was asked about the ideal length of Salatul Witr of the Prophetﷺ he said, “It was the length of Surah Inshiqaaq”.
The daily conversation of sahabaؓ revolved around Qu’ran conveying that’s how much Qu’ran we need in our lives. Qu’ran must become the anchor, and it should be the GPS of our lives.
Ibn Al- Jawzi said: “When the racehorse knows that it is nearing the end of the track it exerts all of its effort to win the race. Do not allow the racehorse to be cleverer than you. For verily, deeds are judged by their conclusions. So if you didn’t do well with welcoming Ramadan then perhaps you will do better bidding it farewell.”
There is no room for messing up our last days, fasten your belts and redeem yourselves in the last 10 blessed days of Ramadan. We must NOT miss this opportunity or else we will be just signing ourselves up for a huge regret later. Make utmost efforts to seek out the night of power which is hidden in one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, particularly on the odd-numbered nights.
The Author has done her Masters in bioinformatics from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. An Obsessive book reader, avid writer, deep thinker, stubbornly positive and ambivert.
