The Virtues of the Last Ten Days

From the Editor

Aisha noted that "Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time." (Muslim) and that with the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work harder) and used to pray the whole night, & used to keep his family awake for the prayers. (Bukhari) 

Ibn `Abbas relates that: "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was the most generous of all people in doing good, and he was at his most generous during the month of Ramadan. Gabriel used to meet with him every year throughout the month of Ramadan, so the Prophet could recite the Quran to him. Whenever Gabriel met with him, he became more generous than a beneficial breeze." (Bukhari & Muslim)

Aisha also says: "I had never known Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) to read the entire Quran in a single night, or to spend the whole night in prayer up until the morning, or to spend a whole month in fasting – except in Ramadan." (An Nasai & Ibn Majah)

It is also 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.” (Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

The Night of Power

One of the greatest distinctions of these ten special nights is that one of them is Laylat al-Qadr. This is the greatest night of the year – better than a thousand months. This means that a Muslim can earn more rewards on the Night of Power than he would if – excluding this special night – he were to worship his Lord for eighty-four years straight. This is one of the immense favors that God has bestowed upon the Muslim community.

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.)” (Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

A’isha 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).” (Tirmidhi) 

The most likely candidate for Laylat al-Qadr is the 27th night of Ramadan. This is indicated by the statement of Ubayy ibn Ka`b: “I swear by Allah that I know which night it is. It is the night in which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered us to observe in prayer. It is the night on the eve of the 27th of Ramadan. Its sign is that the sun will rise in the morning of that day white without exuding any rays.” (Muslim)

Blessings from Prayers 

Umm Salamah, the Prophet's wife, relates that the Prophet  woke her up one night and said:

"Glory be to Allah. What has been sent down of trials during this night? What has been sent down of treasures, so that the denizens of the bedchambers will be awakened? O Lord! To be clothed in this world but naked in the Hereafter!" (Al-Bukhari)

There are three joys of fasting during Ramadan: the time of fast-break, the Eid (Bayram) at the end of Ramadan, and the greater celebration and feast when the faithful enter Paradise.