Khalas ! We have entered the last ten days of Ramadan. Ramadan, our honourable guest will soon depart but we still have to strive to do good acts of worship. Also, the treasure we have been seeking all year round lurks about within the last ten days.
Lailat ul Qadr! will we ''catch'' it ? how will we know?
Really, it does not matter if one knows one has ''caught'' Lailat ul Qadr or not. What is important, is to be steadfast and to carry on as we have started, or if we were a bit laxed at the beginning of Ramadan (not recommended but it can happen for various reasons), we have to catch up on all some neglected acts of worship, like reading the Quran, extra duas, night prayer ....
Lets read about the virtues and benefits of the last ten days of Ramadan on
http://www.qss.org. Mashallah, it is an excellent article and a good reminder.
The last ten days of Ramadan How to take full advantage and benefit from the last part of Ramadan ?
Though all parts of Ramadan are full of blessings and rewards, its last ten days hold a special status reflected in the recommendations and practices of the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, and his companions. I will focus here on three major practices of the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, and his companions during these days.
1-Praying in the last ten nights of RamadanAl-Bukhari and Muslim record from 'Aishah
that during the last ten days of Ramadan, the Messenger of Allah
would wake his wives up during the night and then remain apart from them (that is, being busy in acts of worship). A narration in Muslim states:
"He would strive [to do acts of worship] during the last ten days of Ramadan more than he would at any other time."
Aisha
reported that:
With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers. [Bukhari]
2-Performing I`tikaf in the Masjid (seclusion in the Mosque)Before going to the essential of this last section, let us stop by one of the great Imam of ahl Assunnah wal jama`ah, one of the greatest revivers of the Da`wah and the methodology of the Salaf, Shaikhul-Islam Shamsuddeen Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah who will give us a brain storming admonition.
He says (rahimahu Allah) in Zaad al Ma`aad fi hadyi khairi al `ibaab :
"Since the hearts' rectitude and firmness upon the path towards Allah the Most High.....
please carry on reading the full article hereAnd may Allah accepts our fast for His sake only.
Khadija