Last ten nights of Ramadan

On seeking pardoning from Allah the Almighty

First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Possessor of vast forgiveness, the Endower of great rewards. He honoured us with the Night of Decree. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He pbuh urged Muslims to make best use of the (last) ten (days of Ramadan). May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Master and Prophet Muhammad, his family and all of his companions and those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows,

I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, in line with His orders: “and to forego it is nearer to righteousness. And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing.” (Al-Baqara: 237).

O Observers of Fasting,

Please know that the last ten nights of Ramadan are amongst the best of nights and most honoured by Allah the Almighty. In these days the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to engage further in acts of righteousness and charity more than at any time in the year, the aim being to attain the virtues of the Laitlat Al Qadr (Night of Decree), about which Allah the Almighty said, “the Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.” (Al-Qadr: 3). That is to say: the acts of goodness and the night prayers done in this night are better than those that are done over eighty three years. Indeed, it is a blessed night that is rich in rewards. In it was revealed the holy Quran and about it Allah the Exalted is He says, “indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night.” (Al-Dukhan: 3).

Furthermore, amongst the other virtues of this blessed night is that in it the provisions are distributed and the fates are decreed. On this account, the Almighty says, “on that night is made distinct every precise matter.” (Al-Dukhan: 4). Moreover, in Lailat Al Qadr, the noble angels descend down with mercy, blessings and peace, for Allah the Most High says, “the angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” (Al-Qadr: 4-5).

Other merits of the Night of Decree include it being a night in which Allah the Most Merciful forgives the believers who stand for prayer and He answers their supplications. Thus, the believers are urged to seize the opportunity of such a graceful night by striving in performing act of worship and drawing nearer to their Lord by doing acts of righteousness. Truly, those who fail to attain the virtues of Lailat Al Qadr are deprived as the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “Whoever is deprived of it (the Night of Decree) is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly deprived.”

Dear Muslims,

Being such a great night, there are many ways for the Muslim to attain the blessings and virtues of the Night of Decree. One way is by occupying the last ten days of Ramadan in invoking Allah earnestly and more often. In this regard, it was narrated that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that she said to the Messenger of Allah pbuh, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you think I should say in my supplication, if I come to know which night is Laylat Al-Qadr?” He pbuh said, ‘Say: O Allah! You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me’.” That is to say: O Allah, You are ever pardoning and overlooks the believers’ wrongdoings and conceals them. You forgive their misdeeds and flaws and remove their sins. Allah the Almighty says, “indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.” (An-Nisaa: 43).

In this sense, Lailat Al Qadr is the night dedicated for humbly supplicating Allah, the Most Exalted, the Ever Pardoning, the Most Forgiving. Truly, whoever asks his Lord earnestly for forgiveness would be following the example of Allah’s servants who supplicated to their Lord saying, “and pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us,” (Al-Baqara: 286), so the Most Exalted responded to their invocations, saying, “I indeed did,” as mentioned in the Prophet’s Hadith. In this Hadith, Allah says that He has pardoned, forgave and shown mercy upon them.

The Night of Decree is, therefore, is a precious opportunity for the believer to turn to his Lord in repentance and pray to Him humbly for forgiveness, for indeed “it is He who accepts repentance from his servants and pardons misdeeds.” (Ash-Shura: 25).

Amongst the other best actions that we should strive to do in such a sacred night is standing for prayer in the night and supplicating for lengthened period, devoutly asking for Allah’s pardoning and forgiveness. The Messenger of Allah pbuh urged Muslims to stand for prayer in the Night of Decree as he said, “whoever observes prayer on the night of Lailat Al-Qadr out of faith and in the hope of reward (from Allah), he will be forgiven all his previous sins.”

Undoubtedly, prayer is the believer’s path towards attaining pardoning from Allah, the Exalted is He. It was narrated in this regard that Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that a man came to the Prophet pbuh admitting that he committed a sin. The Prophet pbuh asked him, “Have you not performed ablution when you came?” The man said, “Yes, I did.” He pbuh said, “Have you not prayed with us when we prayed?” He said, “Yes, I did.” He pbuh then said, “You may leave, for Allah, the Almighty, forgave you.” 

O Seekers of Pardoning from Allah the Almighty,

It is also good to know that the Night of Decree is a night for hearts to be cleansed and for Muslims to come closer to one another. In it, the believers draw close to their Lord with pure heart and peaceful soul, free from envy and discord. The aim is to attain the virtues of such a great night and win the pardoning of Allah the Almighty. Thus, this is a good opportunity to advise each other on the reason why the knowledge of the Night of Decree was taken away because of the quarrelling of two Muslims.

It was narrated that Ubada Ibn As-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah pbuh came out to inform us about the Lailat al Qadr but two Muslims were quarrelling with each other. So, the Prophet pbuh said, ‘I came out to inform you about the Night of Decree but such-and-such persons were quarrelling, so the news about it had been taken away; yet that might be for your own good, so search for it on the 29th, 27th and 25th (of Ramadan).” 

In this Hadith there is a call for avoiding fighting and disagreements. It also urges for pardoning and tolerance, for indeed Allah the Almighty loves amongst His servants the doers of good, those who overlook others’ flaws. The Most High says, “but pardon them and overlook [their misdeeds]. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.” (Al-Maida: 13).

One of the forms of pardoning is when the creditor (who lends people money) forgives the indigent people, seeking the forgiveness of Allah the Almighty. On this account, it was narrated that the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “There was a merchant who used to lend the people, and whenever his debtor was in straitened circumstances, he would say to his employees, ‘Forgive him so that Allah may forgive us.’ So, Allah forgave him.”

Bearing this in mind, let us implore to Allah the Almighty to forgive us, pardon our misdeeds and show mercy us.

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His trustworthy Messenger Muhammad and obey those He has commanded us to obey in line with His orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou­­r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime.

O Worshipers,

In these blessed days, it is a good opportunity to remind each other about Zakat Al Fitr, which the Messenger of Allah pbuh prescribed on every Muslim who has witnessed Ramadan. In this regard, it was narrated that Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah pbuh enjoined the payment of one Saa of dates or one Saa of barley as Zakat Al Fitr on every Muslim slave or free, male or female, young or old, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the Eid prayer. (One Saa = 3 Kilograms approx).”

Zakat Al Fitr is payable for each member of the family, the youngsters and the adults. It is to be paid to the needy and less fortunate people. Concerning its payment, some scholars allowed Zakat to be paid in cash, setting the amount at £5 on behalf of each person. Payment of Zakat can be done until the beginning of Eid prayer. However, Zakat does not get waived if not paid. It is recommended to pay it one or two days before Eid as the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to do so.

You are urged, therefore, to ensure paying Zakat Al Fitr. May Allah accept it from all of us.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al-Ahzab: 56).

On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.”

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allah, please forgive us all.

O Allah, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allah we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful.

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability, cure from any illness and peace.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to all of us, Muslims and all the world.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead.

O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing our country with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing our country with safety and security.

O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.

O Allah: we turn to Your name through which nothing is harmed in the earth and the heavens. That we not be afflicted through disease or calamity. Or that disease or epidemic may befall us, O Allah: hear this supplication. We ask you Allah for constancy of well being. For ourselves and for all of the people around us. Save us from the evil of epidemics and diseases.

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.