Ramadan Reminders; Day 21

Assalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! :)

May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah swt be upon you!

Daily Reminder 21:

What we need to realise first and foremost is that Laylatul Qadr or the Night of Power falls on ANY of the odd nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan. This is because I’ve seen mosques packed only on the 27th night. 

No Hadith and no verse in the Quran state the exact date of this Night. So if we desire to seek Laylatul Qadr then the efforts we put into the 27th night should be the efforts we put in all the odd nights. 

Secondly, just because Laylatul Qadr is on an odd night, it doesn’t give us an excuse to relax or let loose our Ibadah, Dhikr and the recitation of the Quran during the even nights.

If Laylatul Qadr was enough to erase all of our sins and if that one night could be the night we change for the better, then Allah swt wouldn’t have revealed an ayah about the entire month of Ramadan! 

Tell me, are the efforts of a person who has been engaging in Ibadah and Istaghfar sincerely since the beginning of Ramadan equal to the person who just recites the Quran and attends the Qiyam ul Layl (Night prayers) on one night?

Yes, Laylatul Qadr is better than a 1000 months! But that does not mean we neglect the rest of the month. That’s like obeying one part of the Quran and letting go of another part! 

I’m in NO WAY discouraging those who attend the Masajid on the 27th night alone. Maybe that was the only night you could make it to the Masjid and may Allah swt accept your efforts, purify your sins, ease your difficulties and bless you with the highest ranks of Jannah. 

But if your intention is to seek The Night of Power and gain it’s benefits, you should be putting the same amount of effort on all the 10 nights, In sha Allah! 

May Allah swt allow us to seek this Powerful Night and accept our efforts! Ameen. 

Verse of the Day:

Juz: 21

Surah: Ar Rum

Verse: 50

فَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ آثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“So observe the effects of the mercy of Allah - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed, that [same one] will give life to the dead, and He is over all things competent.”

Are you in a situation where you wonder if there will be any positive outcome of your trials? Do you question yourself as to for what reason is Allah swt delaying the answer to your prayers? Does it scare you that you might not be able to keep up with the struggle…?

Let me ask you a simple question. Does it rain all around the year? Nope. Does it always rain during a specific period? Nope! Sometimes there’s rain even in the beginning of summer. Even the driest place on earth receives at least 3-15mm of rain in a year!

And if there hasn’t been rain for a long period, what do the farmers do? They pray for the rain, right? Well we even have a prayer for rain in Islam! Subhan Allah the place where I’m residing in currently, this prayer is held at a few Masjids and by the Mercy of Allah we receive rain either the same evening or within the next 1-2 days! 

So we see that rain is not a constant anywhere right? 

What happens when we experience a rainfall? First of all everybody’s excited! And these days you’d immediately notice few Snapchat and Instagram stories when there’s rain! Then there comes 2 categories of people: those who rush to stand under the rain (which is a Sunnah by the way! – Bukhari & Muslim) and those who have pakodas and samosas with tea while enjoying the rain! 

Do you think if rain was a common sight people would have appreciated this beautiful facet of nature? Nope. Just like we hardly realise the value of water and oxygen in our lives, rain would lose its significance too!

Similarly if happiness, peace and comfort were constants in our lives, we would definitely lose its value and not realise that these emotions that seem insignificant are in fact a luxury. 

And when Allah can bring back life to the earth through rain and make the land fertile and productive and if He can bring back the dead to life, how can we lose faith in Allah swt? 

This is Allah’s Wisdom and a rule of the nature that in order to rise, you need to experience the fall. The deeper you fall, the higher you ascend! What if there’s a rough patch in your life? What if you’ve been experiencing only failures? What if there’s only sadness in your life? That’s not how your life is going to remain forever! 

Allah swt will send down relief, He will bring about spring in your life and He will let you taste the sweetness of your patience and Tawakkul by His Mercy! Remember, the longer the wait, the fruitful is the reward, In sha Allah! 

Let’s not despair in the Mercy and Power of Allah swt. That’s not a sign of a Believer! Gather your courage and spirit, invoke upon Allah swt and endure patiently for it will rain in your life soon enough, Bi Idhnillah! 

Sunnah Challenge 21:

One of the Sunnah that we have forgotten is reciting the Takbeer and Tasbeeh during travel! 

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Saheeh that Jabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah (ra) said: “When we went up we would say Takbeer (Allahu Akbar) and when we went down we would say Tasbeeh (Subhan Allah).”

The wisdom behind this is that when we ascend to a higher position, it is important to not feel proud about it and instead praise Allah, who is The Greatest above all! It is also a reminder that would keep us humble at all times, and steadfast in our faith! 

When we descend, we go to a lower level than we were before so we should glorify Allah with the Tasbeeh, as He is The Exalted and free from imperfections! 

Next time you find yourself travelling.. Be it on ground, or air, don't forget to say "Allah hu Akbar" when ascending and "Subhan Allah" when coming down!

May Allah keep us grounded and faithful to Him, and make us one amongst those who remember Him in all times and situations! Ameen.

Assalam Alaykum.