16 things you can do on the Night of Power in Ramadan

By Abdul Malik Mujahid
Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is described in
the Quran as, "better than a thousand
months" (97:3). Any action done on this night
such as reciting the Quran, remembering Allah,
etc. is better than acting for one thousand
months which do not contain the night of Qadr.
Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in
devotion during the last ten nights to a greater
extent than at any other time." (Muslim). Allah's
peace and blessings be upon our beloved
Prophet.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related that
the Prophet said: Look for Laylatul Qadr on an
odd-numbered night during the last ten nights of
Ramadan (Bukhari).
The Prophet said: "Whoever prays during the
night of Qadr with faith and hoping for its reward
will have all of his previous sins
forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim recorded from
Abu Huraira).
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
worshiping and thanking our Creator.
If this is not possible at least take a few days off
if you can. This can make it easier to stay awake
at night to do extra Ibadah, not having to worry
about getting to work the next day.
It will also facilitate doing Itikaf.
2. Do Itikaf
It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last
ten days and nights of Ramadan in the masjid for
Itikaf.
Those in Itikaf stay in the masjid all this time,
performing various forms of zikr (the
remembrance of Allah), like doing extra Salat,
recitation and study of the Quran. They do not go
outside the masjid except in case of emergencies,
therefore, they sleep in the masjid. Their families
or the masjid administration takes care of their
food needs.
Itikaf of a shorter period of time, like one night, a
day or a couple of days is encouraged as well.
3. Make this special Dua
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I
asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of
Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr,
what should I say during it?' He said: 'Say: O
Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon,
so pardon me.' "(Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and
Tirmidhi).
The transliteration of this Dua is "Allahumma
innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee"
4. Recite the Quran
Perhaps you can choose Surahs or passages from
the Quran which you have heard in Tarawih this
past Ramadan to recite.
If you attend a class where the recitation of the
Quran is taught, this is a great time to put your
knowledge into practice.
5. Reflect on the meaning of the
Quran
Choose the latest Surah or Surahs you've heard
in Tarawih and read their translation and Tafseer.
Then think deeply about their meaning and how
it affects you on a personal level.
(If you want to study the Quran with more
understanding, check out Way to the Quran and
Access to Quranic Arabic.
6. Get your sins wiped out
Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger said:
Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylatul Qadr while
nourishing his faith with self-evaluation,
expecting reward from Allah, will have all of his
previous sins forgiven. [Bukhari and Muslim).
Don't just pray using the shorter Surahs that you
know. Try to make your prayers longer, deeper
and meaningful. If you are familiar with longer
Surahs, read the translation and explanation and
then pray reciting these Surahs, carefully
reflecting on the meaning while you pray.
Even if you are only familiar with the shorter
Surahs, read the translation and explanation
beforehand, and then pray reflecting on the
message of the Surahs.
This is a good way to develop the habit of
concentration, even in regular prayers, where
many of us tend to be fidgety and/or easily
distracted.
7. Make a personal Dua list.
Ask yourself what you really want from Allah.
Make a list of each and everything, no matter
how small or how big it is, whether it deals with
this world or not. Allah loves to hear from us.
Once this list is ready, you can do three things:
Ask Allah to give you those things
Think about what actions you have taken to
get those things
Develop a work plan to get those things in
future.
8. 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. (see a
short and a long evaluation guide) This latter
feeling should make it easier to seek Allah's
sincere forgiveness when making the Dua
mentioned in tip number one above.
9. Make long, sincere and deep Duas
One of the best times to do this is during the last
part of the night.
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him,
related that the Prophet said: When the last one-
third of the night remains, our Lord, the Glorious
One descends towards the heaven of the earth
and proclaims: Who is that who supplicates for
Me, and I grant his supplication? Who is that who
begs Me for anything and I grant it to him? And
who is that who seeks My forgiveness, and I
forgive him? (Bukhari, Muslim).
That means for instance, waking up one hour
before Suhoor time to ask Allah for anything and
everything you want that is Halal. This can be
done using the Duas of the Sunnah, but also Dua
in your own language, with sincerity and
conviction.
For some tips on making Dua please see the
article Some personal Duas you can make.
10. Memorize a different Dua every
night
They don't have to be long. They can be just one
line. And be sure to know what they mean
generally at least, even if you don't know the
exact translation in English.
You can put them on index cards (or and keep
them with you during the day, glancing at them
during work, while driving, waiting in line, etc.)
Then practice them at night in prayer.
11. Have Iftar with the family
If you've spent Iftar time on weekdays in your
cubicle at work alone with a couple of dates, now
is the last few days you'll have this Ramadan to
spend with your family. Use it wisely.
12. Take the family to Tarawih
Have your spouse and kids missed Tarawih most
of Ramadan because you weren't there to drive
them to the Masjid, which is too far away to walk
to? If so, do all of yourselves a favor and bring
everyone for Tarawih in these last ten nights.
13. Attend the Dua after the
completion of Quran recitation
Almost all Masjids where the Imam aims to finish
an entire reading of the Quran in Tarawih
prayers in Ramadan will be completing their
recitation in these last ten nights. They may try to
end on one of the odd nights and read the Dua
at the end of a reading of the Quran. Attend this
particular night's Tarawih prayer with your
family. See if you can attend different Masjids'
Tarawih prayers the night they finish reading the
Quran.
14. Finish reading a book on the
Prophet
Read about the Prophet's life, which can increase
your love for him and Islam by seeing how much
he struggled for Allah's sake. It may inspire you
to push yourself even harder during these last
ten nights. This community is built on sacrifice.
15. Plan for the next year
Once you've done a self-evaluation, you can plan
on where you want to go, at least in the next 12
months. Laylatul Qadr is a great night to be
thinking about this (without taking away from
your worship), since you'll Insha Allah, be in a
more contemplative state. You may choose to
dedicate one night of power for evaluation and
one night for planning for the next year.
16. To do list for the Night of Power
Make a to do checklist for each Night of Power.
This should define how you would like your night,
the one better than a thousand months, to be
used. Pick things from this list and define the
sequence you would like to do things in. This will
help you avoid wasting your time in unproductive
chats which common in the festive atmosphere
of Masjids at the Night of Power.