I just received this useful piece in an email and thought I should share. May Allah (swt) give us the opportunity to reap the full benefits of this precious month, may He accept our prayers and wipe away all of our previous sins. Ameen. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------ What to do in the Last Ten Days of Ramadan? Abdul Malik Mujahid In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon 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 these days 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 Him in 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 Qurân as, {better than a thousand months}. [surah Al-Qadr: 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 (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than 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 can make 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 ( I'm sure you can all at least pull off this coming weekend Insha'Allah ) 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 Qurân. 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 I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?' He said: 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 Qurân 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 Qurânic 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 Qadr while 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 to Him in these blessed nights. 7. Make Long, Sincere and Deep Du'as One of the best times to do this is during the last part of the night. Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) quoted the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) as saying: When the 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, with sincerity and conviction. 8. 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. 9. Take the Family to Taraweeh Have your spouse and kids missed Taraweeh most of Ramadan because you weren't there to drive them to the mosque, which is too far away to walk to? If so, do all of yourselves a favor and bring everyone for Taraweeh in these last ten nights. 10. Attend the Du'a After the Completion of the Qurânic Recitation Almost all the mosques where the Imam aims to finish an entire reading of the Qurân in Taraweeh prayers in Ramadan will now be approaching the end of the task in these last ten nights. They may try to end on one of the odd nights and read the Du`a at the end of reading the Qurân. Attend this particular night's Taraweeh prayer with your family. See if you can attend different mosques Taraweeh prayers the night they finish reading the Qurân. All these are just some hints on what is recommended for a Muslim to do in during the last ten nights of Ramadan. May Allah Almighty accept our worship and devotions. Ameen.

Ina Lilaah wa Inaa Ileyhi Raajicuun. Walal, I pray that Allah bestows great sabr and Imaan on you and your loved ones during this difficult time. May Allah (swt) make your father among those in the highest rank of Jannah.

hehe! You funny lot! Originally posted by Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar: Meeshaan waala isku waabsanooyaa. Waabsasho iyo nus, nin meeshan ah qof inaga dhiciya ayuu ubaahanyahay. Waxa dunida caaqil u ah oon ciddi khilaafaynin Oo caasiga iyo caabudkuba wada cisaynaayo Aan calalna oogada ka qabin car ee yaa sheega? I say Cilmiga, and that's my final answer! ya jamaaca, enjoy the rest of Ramadan Insha'Allah. Ha la isu soo duceeyo...esp in your khatmul Qur'an.

Very Inspiring Masha'Allah. JZK for sharing the article with us bro. The stats are striking indeed (here in N. America as well). Just the other night I was praying Taraweeh beside a beautiful, white, young lady who's a 4th year student at a local university, and Masha'Allah I was amazed with the noor on her face and her contentment with her decision to join the Islamic ummah...she was so serene and cute. Like the women in the article, she too was introduced to Islam through friends. Verily Allah guides whom He wills! p.s. I was browsing that website which I hadn't come across before...and I came across a nice article: The Pleasures of Learning -- check it out if you can spare some time. Oh, and wlc to SOL (a lil late I know )

Originally posted by M u h a m m a d: waa labadii is waal waalayeey, oo beleda isu haysteey!! Yaa? Ku soo celi bal, ma anigaad (quite the maskiinad) imika igu sheegtay is waal-waalid iyo balo iska dhig( Ilaahay ha inaga hayo balo). Khalas! No more riddle solving for you MR. Ladiif, I was thinking wiilku muxuu ka hadlayaa, show anigaad ii gabyeesay, lol. Lakiin eeg, ma Ramadaankii baa kaa saacid caleeyay, saa xitaa dadkii 'Silent Readers' ka ahaa baa i soosaarayee. Pick up the pace will ya

Subhanallah, how incredibly disheartening. Af salax ku dhag indeed! And to think that we were even remotely close to progressing... :rolleyes:

Kobtantada waa tii aan ku dhiiqan lahaa baan umalayn Now, did you have to choose the Sayid's work? :mad: I guess I'll just leave my good friend Ladiif to do all the 'madax tuujin' on this one. But I'm so tempted to cheat, am I allowed by any chance? Originally posted by AbduL-Ladiif: Waxa dunida caaqil u ah oon ciddi khilaafaynin Oo caasiga iyo caabudkuba wada cisaynaayo ---->Ilaah cid kasareysa majirto oo dunida caaqil u ah! That's what I thought too.

^adna shini bey kaaga dhagtay innit, LOL. I think what that line is referring to is that they appear black from far sight but they are reddish in actuality (although it depends on the species biologically speaking). These creatures are quite miraculous!

^you're right sis, it is the first 10 Ayah's. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. WOL, you're correct sis. May Allah reward you greatly for taking the time to find the Ayah's. I just love the story of Prophet Musa (AS).

Originally posted by checkmate: Marka Abraar, Incase you don't know what Jinac/Quruwaale is, Its Quraanshada Ninka ah, Ok Hehehe, you had me laughing there walee. Waxaad ilowday ina abti inaan ina Garaad ahay oon in badan reer miyi intaan hoos fadhiistay sheeko ka dhuray ...ma hadaad jinac iyo quraanjana isku mid ka dhigtay ood walibana dhadig iyo lab na u yeeshay? Oh btw, I don't mean to freak you out laakin bari baan waxaan maqlay, fixation with cats is an early symptom of jini dardarid abrar, waxaad ku guulaysatay inaan su'aal kale kuusoo qoro insha'Allah! Soo daa inadeer, I wouldn't mind seeing rag badan oo rafanaya

Masha'Allah, Masha'Allah! What an amazing sawt Alla has blessed with the kid. He sounds like a kid who recites supplications on the Shaariqa channel, he always makes me cry. Originally posted by M u h a m m a d: oh, mise halgan baad ku jirteey! I'll have you know that halganku laftigiisu waa mid aan ciyaar galin oo ubaahan just as much investment

Masha'Allah, a cheerful story indeed!

^^I think 86 are Makkawi and 28 are madinawi. Will have to think about your former question. I have a new question: What was the supplication prophet Musa made when he was commanded by Allah to go see Fir'awn?

Well that's just sad innit. I was hoping he'd win.

^bal aan eego iney maskaxdeyda wali freeze garaysmatay iyo in kale. Here we go.... QURAANJO? That's a well thought of educated guess so it better be right @maroodi duulaya, war ileen yaa wax arkay!

Inaa Lilaah Wa Inaa Ileyhi rajicuun :eek: Tanina ma ii dhineyd, aduunka intaad ku nooshahay ileen wax walba waad maqli

That's it? The choices were limited dear but funny

^ Only maryooleey baa ka maqan listiga.

Do you think he will win?

I once heard a wise shaikh quote another shaikh who said " Argumentation is makrooh(disliked) for the scholars and haram for the common folks." So it's actually haram for average people to debate about Islam. I never knew that before.

^^La Ilaaha Ilaa Anta Subhanaka Inii Kuntu Minal Dhalimiin?

Originally posted by Sky: (******** ******* ******** ******** ******* ) *** ********* ***** ******* ******** ***** ******. ******** ********* ********* *******. Subhanallah! Walal, having love for the religion means you are conscious of Allah (swt) at all times, which means you have to watch how you speak and how you address others. Please try and refrain from such profanity, esp in ramadan, and Istaghfar-ka ku dadaal. MMA, was that khalid bin waleed? You know Musiiboynkan oo kale meel waliba wey jirta umad walibana wey heysataa, unfortunately, laakin I'm glad inuu af Somali ku hadlay haduu details Somalida khuseeya ka hadlayey. Dhibaatadan MN ka taagan with respect to ilma-iskaridida (which I believe is prevalent in other places as well) waan maqlay, and subhanallah waxyaalaha aan is diidsiiyo ayeey ka mid tahay. I simply can't digest it Ilaahay dadkeena ha soo hadeeyo dhaamaan oo ha u dambi dhaafo. [ October 12, 2005, 13:26: Message edited by: Femme ]

if life is a journey and Islam is the path to a successful destiny, marriage is a vehicle well-suited for the journey towards peace and tranquility in this life, and success in the other. That's neat, I like that! The Institution of marriage is indeed very substantial in Islam and one that many of us simply take for granted. Young people today are bombarded with countless negative depictions of marriage and are told to focus mainly on the 'responsibilities' instead of the whole package (I myself had certain presuppositions that I've slowly become liberated of as I learned more about the deen). Furthermore, the astonishing rise in marriage failures also adds to its unappealing features for some and freaks (for the lack of a better word) many out. What some of us fail to see however is that many of these marriages on the breaking verge were initiated for all the wrong reasons and thus lacked the appropriate building blocks to begin with. There's definitely great hikmah in marriage. However, It's very crucial for us to undertand its essentials and prepare ourselves well ahead of time according to the teachings of our religion (ie. learning about your rights/role/responsibilities and that of your future partner), so that Insha'Allah Allah will help us become strong and successful in our marital affairs. For a child, the family atmosphere of love, affection and joy is their best chance for getting the attention and nurture from more enlightened parents and other significant adults. Absolutely! I may be going off on a tangent here but I've observed so many families in our community who fail miserably to provide this vital atmospehere for their children. It's a shock to me really. Could this then be directly related to the increasing number of Somali youth who turn into violence, drugs and other detestable behaviours? The reason why some youth lose direction and lack inspiration or feel unimportant? hmmm

I believe striving for the characteristics of the ideal Muslim/Muslimah is the Jihad every Muslim faces, and by far the most challenging. JZK for sharing the list bro.

Subhanallah!!! Originally posted by Johnny B: Bro Abrar, you´re deliberately making merry in your OWN coarseness. Firstly, I am a sister. Secondly, thank you for the comment! You´r beeing told that the Quran doesn´t mention a male 'hur al ain' and you keep asking ME to answer how do i know that? Here's the deal, when you decide to sincerely seek knowledge about Islam and you eliminate the pre-conceived notions that you seem to be harboring (which obviously bias your observations and hinder your comprehension abilities), then and only then shall I engage in a meaningful dialogue with you. Till then, you take care! May Allah (swt) guide us all to the straight path and forgive us for our shortcomings.