8] What to do in the Last Ten Days of Ramadan?

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings beupon
His Messenger.
We can provide some useful advice on how one could spend the last ten
days of Ramadan, especially as these days are very special in the life
of every Muslim. In fact, every day is special for Muslim, as long as
he is always mindful of Allah in all what he does; every day Muslim
gets increased in piety and draws closer to Almighty Allah. But
thesedays of Ramadan are highly special in the sense of their falling
in one of the most blessed months of the year; the month of Ramadan,
the month of the Qur'anic revelation. May Allah Almighty help us get
closer to Himin this month and may strengthen our faith in Him in a
way that Satan will not be able to drive us away from His Path, Ameen.
Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power)is described in the Qur'an as,
{better than a thousand months}. [Surah Al-Qadr: 3] Any action done on
this night such as reciting the Qur'an, rememberingAllah, etc. is
better than acting forone thousand months which do not contain the
night of Qadr.
Allah's Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) used to exert himself in
devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extentthan at any
other time.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: "Whoever prays during the
night of Qadr with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of
his previous sins forgiven."
[Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah].
Here are some tips of things we can do on the Night of Power and the
time before and after it:
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
canmake 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 Iknow 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 Qadrwhile 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 toHim
in these blessed nights.
7. Make Long, Sincere and Deep Du'as
One of the best times to do this isduring the last part of the night.
Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) quoted the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) as saying: "Whenthe 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, :->