We have been among the blessed ones whom Allah granted the opportunity to witness Ramadan and fulfill its obligations of fasting, prayers, recitation of the Quran and spending in venues that are pleasing to Allah.   Unfortunately, many Muslims start laxing immediately after Ramadan because they consider Ramadan a competition that ended, and it is time to relax.  But this is completely the wrong attitude, Ramadan is not a competition, it is a training for the competition that starts after Ramadan.

During training, players are not under pressure, the pressure occurs during the real game. During Ramadan, Allah chains the devils and thus they are not there to tempt you.  But after Ramadan they are free, and ready to take their revenge against you by ensuring that you lose all the benefits of your Ramadan training that strengthened your Taqwa of Allah.  To illustrate that Ramadan was only the training camp and not the competition, you will note that fasting in Ramadan is easy while outside Ramadan it is difficult.  During Ramadan night prayers are easy but after Ramadan they are difficult.  Also, you easily finish reading the whole Quran in a month but after Ramadan it is a challenge.  The same goes for spending money in charity.

On the morning after Ramadan, we celebrate the end of our training by declaring Allah Akbar, Allah is greater, with full conviction.  This declaration of Allah Akbar is a confirmation of fulfilling the main purpose of the month of Ramadan and that we are now ready to face all temptations that dimension in our minds and hearts that Allah is truly “Akbar” greater than anything in our lives.   After all the rituals we completed during Ramadan, we should strongly feel that Allah is greater than everything that we desire, love, respect, or fear.  Only then, we would have reaped the benefits of the training we had during Ramadan, which is achieving a higher level of Taqwa Allah.

Today, I plan, to inshallah present 3 topics.

1. A recommendation on how to continue to reap the awards for the rituals in Ramadan beyond Ramadan.
2. A check list to assess whether our Taqwa has increased in Ramadan.
3. A condition for achieving the blessings of Lylat Al-Qadr, even beyond Ramadan.

 

The first topic –  My recommendation to continue  reaping the awards for the rituals in Ramadan beyond Ramadan is to make commitments with sincere intention that you will continue the many good things you practiced in Ramadan. You fasted, performed night prayers, read the Quran, and give charity. This helped you to greatly improve your level of Taqwa in Ramadan.

Make the commitment that you will fast some days per month, pray some rakka at night, read the Quran every day, and give money as charity every month. When you make these commitments be sincere in that you will do your best to achieve them.  If something happened and you cannot do some of them, Allah will give you the rewards as if you have done them.

In a divine (Qudsi) hadith, the prophet (PBUH) narrated on behalf of Allah who said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : قال الله عز وجل : ( إذا تحدث عبدي بأن يعمل حسنة فأنا أكتبها له حسنة ما لم يعمل ، فإذا عملها فأنا أكتبها بعشر أمثالها( ، ]رواه الشيخان ، وهذه رواية مسلم[

If My slave intended to do a good deed but he does not do it, I will record it for him as one good, but if he does it, I will record it or him as ten good deeds.  [Bukhari and Muslim]

 This hadith is a great gift from Allah.  The same gift has been reported in the record of past prophets.  It is reported in records of Prophet Musa (Moses) (PBUH) that:

قد جاء في الأثر أنه قد أصاب بني إسرائيل زمن موسى عليه السلام فاقة ومجاعة، وأنَّ راعياً بسيطاً نظرَ إلى الجبال حيث يرعى غنم الناس، وقال: اللهم إنك تعلمُ أنه لو كان لي مثل هذه الجبال ذهباً لتصدقتُ بها على عبادك! فأوحى الله تعالى إلى موسى عليه السلام أن يا موسى قُلْ لعبدي أني قبلتُ منه صدقته!

“During the time of Prophet Musa (Moses), the children of Bani Israel suffered poverty and famine.  A simple shepherd looked at the mountains where he was grazing the sheep of the people, and said: O Allah, You know that if I had such mountains of gold, I would have given it all as charity to help Your slaves.  Allah revealed to Musa (PBUH) to tell this slave (the Shepard) that Allah accepted his charity.”

 

The second topic

This is an exercise to assess the benefits that you have gained from Ramadan.  As you know, all our rituals have clear objectives and the fasting in Ramadan is no exception. The objective of fasting is to strengthen out Taqwa.   Allah said:

 يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡڪُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِڪُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ [البقرة [.

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may achieve Taqwa (God-consciousness).” (Al-Baqara 2:183)

How do you measure your Taqwa?  You measure it by the degree of your awareness of Allah’s presence with you all the time, He sees all what you do and hears all what you say. Allah says:

وَهُوَ مَعَكُمۡ أَيۡنَ مَا كُنتُمۡ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ۬ [الحديد: 4]

And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah Sees all what you do. (Al-Hadid 57:4)

To measure the benefits that you have gained from Ramadan, you need to assess your level of Taqwa. You can do this every day by determining if any of your actions or words would make you embarrassed or ashamed if witnessed by someone very important.  For example, if you shouted at someone for any reason, would you have done that if an important person was present? Or would you have stopped because you do not want him to see you in this condition.

You must know that you are always witnessed by Allah, the most important and powerful in the universe.   Why would you not act the same as you would have acted in front of a very important person.  The most likely reason is that we forget that Allah is always seeing and hearing us.  This is a state of heedlessness and a sign of lack of Taqwa. The solution is that as soon as you become aware of what you did, you repent and ask Allah for forgiveness.

وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُواْ فَـٰحِشَةً أَوۡ ظَلَمُوٓاْ أَنفُسَہُمۡ ذَكَرُواْ ٱللَّهَ فَٱسۡتَغۡفَرُواْ لِذُنُوبِهِمۡ وَمَن يَغۡفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَلَمۡ يُصِرُّواْ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُواْ وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٣٥)

“And those, who, when they have done a shameful deed or wronged themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness of their sins – and who is there to forgive sins other than Allah! and do not persist on what they have done knowingly.” (Al-E-Imran 3:135)

So, to measure your Taqwa, you need to assess daily how many times you did something that you should not have done if you were truly aware that Allah is present. Your Taqwa will increase when the number of times will continuously be reduced until they reach zero. If you reach zero, you have fully achieved the purpose of Ramadan. And only then you have really given Allah His proper status and honor, and this means giving Allah His deserving Qadr.

The Arabic word “Qadr” (قدر) which is written with the letter “Q” (Qaf) has fatha  and the letter “d” (Dal) (د) has sukūn ⟨سُكُون⟩ (بفتح القاف وإسكان الدال)  means status, honor, esteem and estimate.  Giving Allah His deserving status and honor in your life through your behavior and actions means that you have truly given Allah his deserving Qadr ( حَقَّ قَدۡرِهِۦ) .

This brings me to the 3rd topic which is how to achieve all the blessings of Lylat Al-Qadr all the time.

 The third Topic: 

We know that Lylat Al-Qadr is the night in which the Quran was sent down and the primary purpose of the Quran is to teach us about Allah and His attributes.  So, if we truly know Allah, we will be able to give Him His deserving true Qadr.

When you study the Quran, you will note that the term Qadr with the letter “Q” (Qaf) (ق) has fatha (فتحة) and the letter “d” (Dal) (د) has sukūn ⟨سُكُون⟩ came in seven verses.  It came in 3 verses in Surat Al-Qadr:

إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ فِى لَيۡلَةِ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ (١) وَمَآ أَدۡرَٮٰكَ مَا لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ (٢) لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّنۡ أَلۡفِ شَہۡرٍ۬ (٣)

We sent it down in a night of Al-Qadr (1) And how will you know what a night of Al-Qadr is? (2) a night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. (Al-Qadr 97:1-3)

 The term Qadr came once in Surats Al-Anaam, Al-Hajj and Al-Zummer.  In these three verses, the same phrase was repeated as a reprimand for mankind: Allah says:

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدۡرِهِۦ

“They have not given Allah His true Qadr (His true honor, His rightful estimate, His deserving status)” [Al-An’am 6:91, Al-Hajj 22:74, and Al-Zumur 39:67]

 The 7^th verse states that Allah gave everything its Qadr and this Qadr is related to the Taqwa as Allah says:

وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجۡعَل لَّهُ ۥ مَخۡرَجً۬ا (٢) وَيَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا يَحۡتَسِبُ‌ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسۡبُهُ ۥۤ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَـٰلِغُ أَمۡرِهِۦ‌ۚ قَدۡ جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدۡرً۬ا (٣

““Whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, Allah will always find a way for him out of any difficulty and will provide for him from a source that he does not expect and whoever relies on Allah, He is sufficient for him.  Surely Allah accomplishes His purpose, Allah has Qadr (measure, status) for everything.” (Al-Talaq 65:2-3)

This suggests that all the benefits of Lylat Al-Qadr can be achieved when you give Allah His deserving Qadr (حَقَّ قَدۡرِهِۦ) and Allah will give you your deserving Qadr. But to give Allah His deserving Qadr (حَقَّ قَدۡرِهِۦ) you need to have the Taqwa that is deserving to Allah, Allah said:

﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ ﴾ ] آل عمران: 102[

“O you who believe, have Taqwa of Allah with His true Taqwa (as His Taqwa should be).” (Al-Imran 3:102)

So, if you can achieve the level of Taqwa that is deserving for Allah, Allah will grant you your deserving Qadr of glory and honor of Lylat Al-Qadr and this will bring a new happy and bright dawn in your life. Allah says:

 

تَنَزَّلُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيہَا بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّہِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمۡرٍ۬ (٤) سَلَـٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطۡلَعِ ٱلۡفَجۡرِ (٥)

In it the angels and the Spirit descend by their Lord’s Permission with all Decrees, (4) Peace, it is until the rising of dawn. (Al-Qadr 97:3-5)

 Since I am saying that you can gain all the benefits of Lylat Al-Qadr anytime of the year when you are able to give Allah His true Qadr, I want to highlight few points for you to reflect on:

1. It is the accepted views that Lylat Al-Qadr is either the night in which the Prophet (PBUH) received the first revelation or the night during which the Quran was sent down form the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) to the House of Might (Baytul-Izzah) which is in the worldly heaven.
2. If it is the night in which the Prophet (PBUH) received the first revelation, the date is known. According to Islamic records, the Prophet (PBUH) received the first revelation while he was in the mount of Hira on the night of the 21^st of Ramadan and this is equivalent to the 10^th of August 610 AD. But if you make the proper conversion between the Gregorian calendar and the lunar calendar, the 10^th of August 610, it will be equivalent to 13^th Ramadan year 12 before Hijra. (http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/hijri.htm )  So, If Lylat Al-Qadr is the night in which the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet (PBUH), it will either the 13^th of Ramadan if we use the proper conversion form the known date in the Gregorian calendar or the 21^st of Ramadan if you use the Islamic records based on the lunar year.  Note that the hadith on Lylat al-Qadr are inconsistent and the opinions of scholars regarding the date reach 40 opinions.
3. If Lylat al Qadr is the night during which the Quran was sent down from the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) to the House of Might (Baytul-Izzah) in the worldly heaven, how can we relate a night in Ramadan in the worldly heaven to a night in Ramadan on the earth when Allah says:

وَإِنَّ يَوۡمًا عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلۡفِ سَنَةٍ۬ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ (٤٧)

“Indeed, one say with your Lord is equivalent to as a thousand years according to your calculations.” (Al-Hajj 22:47)

 

يُدَبِّرُ ٱلۡأَمۡرَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ ثُمَّ يَعۡرُجُ إِلَيۡهِ فِى يَوۡمٍ۬ كَانَ مِقۡدَارُهُ ۥۤ أَلۡفَ سَنَةٍ۬ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ (٥)

“He manages and regulates (every) matter from the heavens to the earth, then it (every matter) will ascend to Him, in a Day equivalent to a thousand years of according to your calculations” (Al-Sajda 32:5)

Therefore, when Allah informs us that He sent the Quran in one night of the month of Ramadan, it may not mean an earthly Ramadan night but rather a heavenly Ramadan night whose duration is 1000 years from what we count on earth.   But one may ask, is there Ramadan in the first heaven, the answer apparently yes because Allah informs us that there are 12 months everywhere in the universe. Allah says:

إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّہُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثۡنَا عَشَرَ شَہۡرً۬ا فِى ڪِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوۡمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ

“The number of months with Allah is twelve months in the Book of Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth.’ (Al-Tawba 9:36)

4. If Lylat l-Qadr is on one specific night in Ramadan, this raises some questions: Ramadan of what country since Muslims live at different longitudes with different time zones or what would be the night for people who start Ramadan at different days.

 

.We pray to Allah to help us perfect our level of Taqwa to always be able to give Allah His deserving status and honor, His true Qadr, through our words and deeds.  We pray to Allah to help us continue many of the good deeds we did in Ramadan.