Why the Last 10 Nights Can Make Up for Everything

Why the Last 10 Nights Can Make Up for Everything

There will be people in this room who are not going to be alive next Ramadan. It may be you and it may be me. This may be our last opportunity.

And the question is, what are we going to do with that last opportunity? This month of Ramadan, two weeks have gone by. For many of us, we started out, as with every match, as with every competition, with every event, you start out racing past the gates in excitement. You welcomed the month of Ramadan.

You were eager in the first few days. But as the days went by and the fast grew on you and you got desensitized and I got desensitized, we slowly but surely lost that motivation. We lost the energy that we had in the first few days.

And we reach a point at this very point in the middle of the month where we are depleted in energy and depleted in motivation. And some of us have even lost sight of the goal. What are we trying to do in this month? Some of us are just trying to survive the last few days as the last 10 days draw near.

And the night in which we search for Laylatul Qadr draws near. We have to completely switch this mindset over. We have to rejuvenate. We have to revive our energies and be ready because what's about to come is the night of a lifetime. Many of us, we find ourselves at the middle of the month, we find ourselves sleepwalking into the last 10 nights. Whereas some of us are racing, running, competing on their full game because they know these are the nights that matter.

How the Prophet ﷺ Prepared for the Last 10 Nights

As you come into the last 10 nights, you remember how our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would prepare for the last 10 nights. His wife Aisha informs us:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2024; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 270)

إِذَا أَقْبَلَ الْعَشْرُ — When the last 10 nights would draw near, شَدَّ مِعْزَرَهُ — he would tighten his belt. 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, they're going to do some exercise, they tighten their belt, they pull up their sleeves. This is what the Prophet ﷺ would do as he approached the last 10 nights. He would exert himself more than he would in any night of the year. That's the first thing.

The second thing he would do — وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ — 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 10 nights would draw 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:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1914; Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 2604)

"Why don't you get up and pray?" Nobody would be left — no room, no door would be unknocked — except that he would pass by and involve everyone.

And this is really especially a duty for the leaders of the household, the fathers, and for the mothers. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to ask our children, "Why didn't you wake up, 8-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-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?

Never Lose Hope in the Mercy of Allah

As we come towards these last 10 nights, many of us feel despair. We feel embarrassed. We think, "What's the point? I've wasted two weeks." Forget two weeks — I might have wasted my entire life. How am I going to save myself? What is the point of exerting myself just in the last few nights of Ramadan?

For those people, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has a special message for you. Allah says in the Qur'an:

"Tell my slaves who have gone too far in wronging themselves" — those who have lost hope, those who have despaired, those who are beyond repair, those whose MOTs have failed, spiritual MOTs of course — لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ tell them to never lose hope in the mercy of Allah. إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا — Allah forgives all sins. إِنَّهُ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ — He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

Many of us, as we enter these last 10 nights, devoid of energy, devoid of hope, we need to remember that message. Whatever our criminal record says in the sight of Allah, it is only a moment of sincere repentance and it can all be wiped clean. We can start with a clean slate. This is the spirit of the last 10 nights.

The Du'a of Laylatul Qadr

When the Prophet ﷺ is asked by his wife Aisha radhiyallahu anha — "If I am to find Laylatul Qadr... we don't know which night, most likely one of the odd nights, but we don't know which... what should I say? It's like if I end up one day standing in front of the king or the queen or the prime minister, I'm going to find myself speechless. Give me a script. What should I say?" — and in that moment, the Prophet ﷺ tells her: if you find yourself in that night, Laylatul Qadr, then you should say:

"O Allah, You are the only one able to wipe away all of my sins. And You love to do so. Please erase, wipe clean all of my sins."

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3513 — graded Sahih)

Be Ambitious in Asking Allah

Be ambitious. As we come to the last 10 nights, we are not asking somebody with limited capital, with a small bank account, with limited reserves. We're not asking someone who is facing the cost of living crisis. We are asking the Almighty who owns the heavens and the earth. Why be modest in our request?

The Prophet ﷺ says to his companions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790)

"If you get a chance to ask Allah for something, don't ask Him for the basement of paradise. Don't ask Him for the ensuite studio accommodation of paradise. Ask Him for the penthouse. Ask Him for الْفِرْدَوْس. Ask Him for the greatest part of paradise." Don't be modest. Don't be shy. Because you are asking the one who owns the heavens and the earth. This is the attitude with which we should go into the last 10 nights.

We are going to a sale, an offer — a one-time offer — in which 83 years' worth of deeds can be gained and a lifetime worth of sins can be forgiven. How merciful of Allah to even grant us that opportunity.

The Lesson of Abu Hurairah

I want to end this khutbah by sharing with you this story, in hopes that it will give us food for thought.

This man, Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu anhu — he accepts Islam in the 7th year of Hijri. That means after he accepts Islam, he only has 3 to 4 years in the company of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ before the Prophet ﷺ passes away. 3 to 4 years.

For a moment, think about everything he has missed. He has missed the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of the Trench — the great battles, the great wars, the great moments. How many years he missed the company of the Prophet ﷺ. 17 years he did not experience a moment with the Prophet ﷺ. And he has come now at the very end of the Prophet's life — the last minute, the last 3 years — and he has accepted Islam.

One might think: in 3 years, what is this man going to do? What is he going to learn from the Prophet? What is he going to achieve? And then he turns around and he shocks us all and he becomes the greatest narrator of hadith that the world has ever seen. 3 to 4 years in the company of the Prophet ﷺ, and he narrates roughly 12,000 hadith.

It's like when you're watching a match and you get that substitution at the last 5 minutes, and that substitute scores all the goals. That last over of the match, when all the runs are scored. It takes a man who knows the value of time.

He thinks to himself: "I have 3 years. I've spent so many years of my life as a disbeliever. In these 3 years," — this was his mandate, his mission — "I am not going to part ways with Muhammad ﷺ for even a single minute. I am going to memorize everything he says. Every movement."

To the extent, Abu Hurairah used to watch the Prophet's silences and ask him, "Why were you silent for that one moment?" One day he asked the Prophet ﷺ:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 744; Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 900)

"I saw you silent for one moment between saying الله أكبر and reading the Fatiha. What do you say?" Look at the curiosity. Look at the intelligence. Look at how intent he is to preserve every second he lives with the Prophet ﷺ.

We Still Have Half the Month

So many of us — our entire lives have been lived in sin, in waste. We have never really discovered our purpose and why Allah created us. So many of us lived our Ramadan in waste — in waste of time, in watching serials, in watching TV, in lazing around, in killing the time.

But you know what? If Abu Hurairah in three or four years could narrate thousands of hadith, you and me — we still have half the month.

There will be people in this room who are not going to be alive next Ramadan. It may be you and it may be me. This may be our last opportunity. And the question is, what are we going to do with that last opportunity?

The Warning of Regret

There are so many of us in this room who are going to wake up on the Day of Judgment regretful. As Allah says in the Qur'an — when death comes, and it comes with no appointment, we will exclaim:

"Oh Allah, send me back. Oh Allah, send me back to the world so that I can do all the good that I missed out on." What's Allah's response? "You are speaking empty words, my friend. Now face the torment which is awaiting you."

How many of us will be saying those words of regret on the Day of Judgment? "Oh Allah, send me back. Give me extra time. Extension, please. I didn't do enough. I didn't use my time well. I had that last Ramadan, but I slept through it. I played PlayStation. I wasted my time."

Death comes — it doesn't come with an appointment. This might be our last Ramadan, the last 10 nights we stand in front of Allah. Let us stand in front of Allah in a way where we can stand in front of Him on the Day of Judgment and say: "I did justice to every night in those last 10 nights. I did justice to those days that were the weekend and the bank holiday. I had no excuse. I stood the night. I sweated, I cried, my feet were swollen — and I did it for You."

Will we be able to say that to Allah on the Day of Judgment? Or will we be of those begging to ask Him to send us back?