Prophet ﷺ’s preparation for last 10 nights!

Prophet ﷺ's Preparation for the Last 10 Nights

As you come into the last ten nights, you remember how our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would prepare for the last ten nights. His wife Aisha رضي الله عنها informs us, when the last ten nights were drawn near, he would tighten his belt.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2024; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1174 — narrated by 'Aisha رضي الله عنها)

You know, before someone is going to get involved in a very strenuous activity — they're going to run a race, they're going to get involved in combat, some exercise — they tighten their belt, they pull up their sleeves.

The First Thing: Exerting Himself More Than Any Other Night

This is what the Prophet ﷺ would do as you approach the last ten nights. He would exert himself more than he would in any night of the year. That's the first thing.

The Second Thing: Waking Up His Family

The second thing he would do — he would wake up his family. So many times us as parents we say, it's okay, they're young, let them sleep, let them snore, let them snooze. But if there was any night in the year to wake them up, to let them experience the sweetness of an all-nighter in servitude of the Almighty, these are the nights to wake them up.

As the last ten nights were drawn near, the Prophet ﷺ would not let anybody sleep in his house. The children, his wives, his family, his extended family — he would go knocking their doors, saying to them, why don't you get up and pray. No room, no door would be unknocked except that he would pass by and involve everyone.

A Special Duty Upon the Leaders of the Household

And this is really especially a duty for the leaders of the household — the fathers and for the mothers. Because Allah سبحانه وتعالى is not going to ask our children, why didn't you wake up — eight-year-old, nine-year-old, eleven-year-old — to pray at night. He's going to ask us, those who are responsible for them: why did we not push them?

For many of us there is an embarrassing answer to this. We ourselves don't get up. Where is the question of waking up our children?