We’re now well into the all-important final third of Ramadan, wherein lies a night better than a thousand months: Laylatul Qadr. This auspicious event could occur on any of the last ten nights – particularly an odd night – so we’re advised to ‘seek’ the night.
However, the reality is that – year after year – many of us treat the 27th night as the one. The calendars state it with certainty, and the masjids are jam-packed on that night. So – by popular opinion – it seems that no other night can have this honour: it has to be the 27th. And to make things worse, some of us even begin to bid farewell to Ramadan once taraweeh is complete on that night.
With attitudes like these, it’s easy to let the last few days and nights of Ramadan fall by the wayside: the hard work is now over with, and it’s time to relax, put our feet up, and channel most of our energy into preparing our wardrobes and kitchens for Eid.
This kind of change is totally understandable, because, after a period of spiritual intensity, it’s natural to want to wind down. And because Eids are our only legitimate days of celebration in Islam, it really is important to prepare for Eid ul-Fitr.
The only problem is: there’s absolutely no certainty that Laylatul Qadr falls on the 27th night. What if Laylatul Qadr was on the 29th night, but because you succumbed to the 27th night misconception, you spent that night shopping for clothes, looking up recipes, or wasting away your time on the Internet or chatting with friends. So for a night in which you could have earned over 83 years of worship and reward, you’d get almost zero – because you just followed the crowd and let yourself believe that it was time to relax.
Even if we put that issue aside for a moment, the fact is that the month is still not over, and the remaining three or four days are very precious. The entire month is like an abundant shower of barakah, and the final days and nights are incredible opportunities to gather those final drops that will, insha-Allah, help carry us through the eleven months of ‘normal life’ that will follow.
When Ramadan departs, it becomes much harder to maintain good deeds and taqwa. And if we succumb to the 27th night misconception, we let our decline start early – exposing ourselves to a greater risk of failure in the eleven months to follow.
So, I’d advise myself and all of you:
- As far as possible, get your Eid-related activities done as early as possible, so that you can maximise ibadah in Ramadan’s precious final moments.
- When the final ten nights arrive, treat all of them – especially the odd ones – as Laylatul Qadr. Exert yourself in worship on each of those nights and you’ll be a winner – regardless of which night it turns out to be.
- No matter what kind of Ramadan you have before the 27th night, make sure that you take full advantage of the time after that night. Make one last push, and squeeze out the tremendous rewards still on offer. And put in place practical plans / habits that will help you maintain at least some of your good deeds for the eleven months to follow.
As a community, we might never shake off the 27th night misconception that hits us year after year. But as individuals, let’s reflect on our own states, and let’s recognise that – no matter when Laylatul Qadr occurs – we would be very foolish to waste away the precious, final moments of Ramadan…especially since we might never live to see this incredible opportunity again.
Image source: ProductiveMuslim.com Originally written for the now-defunct "Treasure Magazine" (South Africa).
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slip-sliding away..... 