1] How to Reap the Rewards of Lailatul Qadr

1]
The Reward for Lailatul Qadr
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ . لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ
مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is? The
Night of the Decree is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping
Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months).
[97: 2-3]
This blessed night was given to our ummah as a special gift upon the
concern of the Prophet forthe short lives of his people in comparison
with those who lived before. Thus whatever is done on this blessed
nightwill be recorded for the sincere Muslim as if he had done the
same deeds without sinning for one thousand months, which is the
equivalent of 83 years and four months! This was among the reasons why
the Prophet (saas) said that whoever was deprived of the good of this
night was truly deprived:
Abu Hurairah (ra) who said: The Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "There
has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month which Allah has enjoined you
to fast ... In it there is a night which is better than a thousand
months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived."
(Sahih - Nasaa'i, Ahmad)
فعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال
من قام ليلة القدر إيماناً واحتساباً غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet (saas)
said:"Whoever spends the night of Lailatul Qadr in prayer out of faith
and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins."
In this authentic hadith, special care must be paid to his statement
(saas)"out of faith and in hope of the reward". This shows us the
importance of purifying both the intention and our sincerity, praying
to Allah with full belief in Him andseeking His great reward.
What to Do on this Blessed Night
1. Remember to also workhard in the daylight hoursof these nights.
This helps to prepare the heart and the soul for the efforts of the
night, and this was the manner of Imam ash-Shaafi'ee.
2. Be cautious of over-eating in these days. Allah says in the Quran:
وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
And eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah does not love
those who waste. [7:31]
ما ملأ آدمي وعاء شرا من بطنه
And the Prophet (saas) said on the authority of Miqdaam, "A person
will not fill a pot worse for himself than his stomach."(Sahih - Jami'
as-Sagheer)
And in one of the stories narrated from Bani Isra'eel, the Prophet
Yayha (as) once asked Iblees if he had ever succeeded in deceiving
him. Iblees stated that on only one occasion had he been able to
deceive this noble Prophet and that had been when he had encouraged
him to eat a lot of one of his favorite dishes to the extent that when
he slept that night he didn't awaken for the night prayer.
3. Putting on your best clothes for this night. Have you not
considered Allah's statement in the Quran:
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ
O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel to every Masjid. [7:31]
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْبَسُوا مِنْ
ثِيَابِكُمْ الْبَيَاضَ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ خَيْرِ ثِيَابِكُم
Ibn 'Abbaas (ra) reports from the Messenger of Allah (saas) that he
said,"Wear your white garments for they are among the best of your
clothes." (Sahih - Abu Dawood)
And it has been narrated authentically that Anas ibn Maalik (ra) used
to have a garment that he would wear only once in the year and that
was the night that he expected lailatul Qadr.
And it has been reported from a number of the predecessors that they
used to take showers and perfume themselves especially for the last
ten nights.
What is the wisdom behind this? In order to best purify our souls and
hearts, it helps to start from the outside by wearing that which is
clean, pure and beautifies us, and Allah knows best.
Let us not forget though the words of Allah:
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي
سَوْءَاتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىَ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ
O' Children of Adam! We have bestowed libaas andreesh upon you to
cover your privates, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the
adornment of taqwa - that is the best.[7:26]
Regarding this noble ayah, 'Abdur-Rahman ibnu Zayd ibnu Aslam
commented, "When one fears Allah, Allah covers his errors".
4. To make i'tikaaf - even if it be for a limited number of hours. The
benefit of it is that one is recorded as being in prayer the whole
time so long as he makes this intention (of remaining until the next
obligatory prayer), and it was the confirmed Sunnah of our Prophet
(saas) and even that of his wives after his death (saas).
5. To be sincere for the sake of Allah and to be onthe lookout for the
destroyers of sincerity to Allah - and they are showing off
(al-riyaa') andarrogance (kibr), :->