Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening Supplications

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our Master Muhammad and upon the family of our Master Muhammad and bless and send peace upon them. O Allah, ease my heart, ease my affairs, and release my tongue from my bondage, so that they may understand my speech.

Glory be to You, there is no knowledge for us except what You have taught us. O Allah, teach us what benefits us, and benefit us with what You have taught us, and increase us in knowledge and action. O Allah, enlighten our hearts with Your knowledge, and use our bodies for Your obedience.

And grant us what You love and are pleased with — my speech, my action, my intention, and my guidance. Indeed, You are Able to do all things. O Allah, O Wahhab, O Fattah.

Introduction: The Virtues of Laylatul Qadr

Today, everyone came from work. For those who are doing I'tikaf, this is your first night — you've been at work all day. Inshallah, I plan to not make this an extended session. We're just going to go over some of the virtues of Laylatul Qadr, then conclude with a du'a, and then allow you brothers to rest or engage in individual ibadah.

And then we'll have our daily 1am session at Candlelight. For those who want to join, they can join that online or on-site, inshallah.

Usually this session is conducted by Mufti ibn Hajj. He does tafsir, and his session is focused on the stories behind — the context behind the text. So he chooses one or two verses of the Qur'an and focuses on the causes of revelation, the story behind that. He's going to attend another Khatmul Qur'an elsewhere tonight, so I'm going to be covering for him, inshallah. And we'll be speaking about just the virtues of this night, so that we can not only make the most of tonight, but also all the remaining nights that we have in front of us.

Allah's Grace in Choosing People, Places, and Times

Alhamdulillah, this is the grace of Allah — that He chooses certain people, certain places, certain times, certain days, and He gives them virtue over others. Even amongst the prophets, there are those whom Allah has given virtue over the others. So the prophets also get virtue because of Allah giving them that virtue. The day of Jum'ah has virtue because Allah chose to give it. Ramadan has that virtue because Allah chose to give it. Arafat has that virtue because Allah chose to give it. And Laylatul Qadr has that virtue because Allah chose to give it.

There is one very big secret in it, and that is the fact that Allah chose the Prophet ﷺ to be the most virtuous of men, and women, and angels, and jinn — the most virtuous of all of His creation. And Allah chose to give His ummah, His nation, virtue over all other nations. Jannah is haram for all prophets until the Prophet ﷺ enters. And Jannah is haram upon all the nations until you and I — the nation of Rasulullah ﷺ — enter Jannah.

The ulama have gathered up to 70 different virtues for this nation over all other nations — so many various rewards that are specific for the nation of Rasulullah ﷺ. And what have you and I done to be born into this nation? Nothing. It's just like — what have you and I done to be born on this side of the world where we have such amazing amounts of comfort and luxury, while our brothers and sisters who have similar names are on the other side of the world going through immense suffering?

That is the grace of Allah — He gives whoever He wishes. He gives and He takes. And some He gives in this world and some He gives in the hereafter. And we hope Allah makes us amongst those who get it over here and get it over there — double dip, inshallah.

The Challenge: Competing with Previous Nations

The virtue of this ummah is established. Now the issue is — the sahaba came and said, "Ya Rasulullah, how are we going to compete with the people of the previous nations?" Because they were given extremely long lives. And it is clearly mentioned in the Qur'an that Allah granted Nuh عليه السلام a thousand years, except minus fifty.

Allah gave Nabi Nuh — and obviously with that his nation as well — almost a thousand-year-long life. In those thousand years, just think about it: a thousand years, or nine hundred years, or eight hundred years — Allahu Akbar. How much ibadah, how much tasbih, how much dhikr, how much fasting, how much sadaqah can you not do? Now we're supposed to be the most virtuous — how are you going to compete with that? We're sixty, seventy years up against nine hundred years. The math says it all, that there's no way we can compete.

So Allah gave us this superpower — this extremely strong strength and ability. And what is that? That Allah, if you can say, He changed the formula. You have an Excel spreadsheet, you have the formula on top. Allah is the one who sets the formulas. He does whatever He wants. Who's going to ask Him why He did this or how He did that? No one can ask Him. He controls A to Z — vertical integration to the highest degree. Every single thing is under His control.

The New Formula: Multiplied Rewards

So Allah went and changed the formula. And that formula is:

Anyone who does any good deed is going to get a minimum of ten times the reward. Then:

The reward of spending in the path of Allah — all of you who are giving tonight, who will give later on — Allah says the example of those who give in Allah's path is like a small seed. You put that seed in the ground and it gives you seven stalks. In every stalk of corn there are, for example, a hundred more seeds. So you put in one seed and now you're getting a plant that's got seven stalks — seven corn — and each one of those has a hundred seeds. Meaning, every seed gave you a minimum of seven hundred seeds.

And after giving, Allah says this is the example of those who invest in sadaqah, who invest in the path of Allah — that the reward they're going to get is something beyond. Honestly, if you and I truly understood the power of sadaqah and what infinite power it has, we'd have to be told to stop giving, because we have to take care of our own spouse and kids. Because the return on that investment is so high that anyone who truly believes in these verses of the Qur'an will have a hard time holding back.

And as though a seven-hundred-times return wasn't enough — which investment out there, even in the craziest crypto or stock market, gives you seven hundred percent? — Allah doesn't stop at seven hundred percent. He says:

Allah increases even beyond this for whoever He wants. There's no stop, there's no cap. No one can say, "Ya Allah, you can't do this much, this is too much profit, too much return." There's no such thing.

Those who give in Allah's path do not then follow up their expenditure, their investment, by claiming favors — "Oh, I did this for you, I did that for you. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have gone through college. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have this house." They don't say anything. And they don't harm anyone verbally or in any other way just because they gave the money. Because some people give money and then you have to lead a life like a slave to them. So these people don't do that. They give and they forget, and they act as though they never gave.

That's why the ulema have said — if you loan money to someone, you need to be so cognizant and aware of not benefiting from that person because you gave a loan. Because what would that be?

(Principle of Islamic Fiqh — cited by scholars of jurisprudence)

Every single loan that brings about with it some special benefit is riba. So if they lent someone money, they would make sure they did not even stand in the shade of that person's house. They're passing by, it's hot sun, and they think, "Oh, let's take some shelter." Then they say, "SubhanAllah — this house? I gave this guy a hundred dollars. Nope, I don't want to stand under his roof. I don't want to stand under his gutter. I don't want to stand under his tree." Because now I'm benefiting. Look at how careful they were, so that it should not happen — as they say — instead of actually gaining, I end up losing. Because sadaqah is supposed to give you benefit. Giving a loan to someone is supposed to give you benefit. But here, instead of giving a loan and getting the full reward in the akhirah, what has happened? If we are caught in the court of Allah as though we have benefited from our loan, then we are actually going to get punishment. So I'd rather be super careful, because I don't want to end up getting punishment instead of reward.

The Hadith of Intentions and Deeds

So sadaqah is an example of 700-plus. Allah made this specific formula for the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ. For example, another hadith mentions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6491; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 233)

Whoever intends to do a good deed, Allah immediately — just on the intention — gives him a reward. And then whoever fulfills that intention and does the good deed, Allah gives him ten rewards. And then whoever intends to commit a sin, Allah does not write anything in His book. And then whoever ends up backing away from the sin out of the fear of Allah, Allah gives him a reward. And then if someone ends up committing the sin, he only gets one sin in his record.

Again: intention of good deed — just on the spot, you get a hasana. Following through the good deed — ten rewards. Intention to do sin — no sin. Repenting from the intention of committing sin — good deed. And then eventually someone actually ends up committing the sin — one sin. These are, again, some of the virtues — ways to help us get equal with the nations of the past. Allah is making every single good deed of ours so heavy.

Other Abundant Gifts of Mercy

And then to top it all, there are just so many other beautiful examples. Like sins being forgiven on Mondays and Thursdays — whoever is fasting on these days, our book of deeds is being presented to Allah, and there's a high chance of our deeds being forgiven. Every single night, 365 days of the year, Allah descends to the lowest heaven, sama' al-dunya. Every morning before Salatul Fajr, He says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1145; Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1656)

"Is there anyone seeking forgiveness? Anyone? Anyone? So that I may forgive him? Is there anyone who is asking, so I may fulfill his needs?" This is a call that is made out.

Then you have your wudu. Between every single salah, the wudu we're doing — whatever sins have been committed, forgiven. As we wash our hands and our feet, our eyes and our ears, our face — every sin committed by these limbs is being cleansed through the power of wudu. Every salah is not only wiping out the sins from the previous salah to this salah, but after salah, whatever du'a you make, that du'a is going to get accepted.

Then we have Jum'ah to Jum'ah. Every Jum'ah — tomorrow, when you go to the masjid — walking to the masjid for Salatul Jum'ah is going to be counted as jihad fi sabilillah. Whatever dust falls on your shoes, your feet — even the smoke of Jahannam cannot come close to that portion of your body. But what did you do? You just went for Jum'ah. Whatever snow, sleet, dirt, or mud that comes onto your clothing, your shoes, your feet — Allah will protect your body not only from the fire but also from the smoke of Jahannam.

Then a person who recites Surah al-Kahf — we should all be reciting Surah al-Kahf — every Friday, Friday to Friday. That Surah al-Kahf will serve as a nur from one Jum'ah to the next. And of course, along with that, it is a means of protection from the fitna of Dajjal.

SubhanAllah, walhamdulillah — each one of these things, when the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 2, Hadith 432)

Just saying SubhanAllah is so weighty — it fills up the scale. Saying SubhanAllah, alhamdulillah, gives you a tree in Jannah. If you're going to get a tree in Jannah, that means you have to have real estate in Jannah. If you have real estate in Jannah, you can't be sitting in Jahannam getting the benefits of your real estate in Jannah. In order to have real estate in Jannah, that means you've got to be in Jannah. The tree is not going to be a random tree in a desert. You're going to have a house, you're going to have all sorts of things.

So each tasbih is giving us a beautiful tree — not like the tree of this world, which has a few months and after that the leaves fall away and you have a barren tree without fruit. Instead, the trees of Jannah, once they are there, there's no such thing as them ever becoming barren, ever losing their luster, ever losing fruit:

They're always going to be giving fruits, all the time.

Salatul Ishraq and Other Nafl Prayers

The other day during the no-tech retreat, we shared some hadith — that the one who performs two raka'ah sunnah after Isha, followed by two raka'ah nafil, and in some narrations, before he leaves the masjid, he will get the reward of performing salah on Laylatul Qadr. So throughout the entire year, just by praying two raka'ah of salah after Isha sunnah, you can get the reward of making ibadah on Laylatul Qadr.

If someone forgets but has a consistent habit of performing it every night, another hadith mentions that whoever has a habit every single night and forgets it — as long as they fulfilled that habit before the Dhuhr salah the next day, it will be as though they did it last night. SubhanAllah. How much leeway Allah is creating for us! How much accommodation! Just do it. If this doesn't work, try that. If that doesn't work, try this. Whatever you can — do something.

Then you have Salatul Ishraq. Inshallah, those who are in I'tikaf for sure — hopefully we will all be here. Do not ever sleep before Ishraq while you're here at the masjid. Definitely get an hour or two — these are long nights, you can sleep a little in the night. But after Fajr, stay awake. Attend the dars, do your dhikr, recite your Yasin, do your Qur'an and whatnot, and pray Ishraq and then go to sleep.

The reward mentioned for Ishraq — for the one who remembers Allah after Salatul Fajr all the way till sunrise, and 10–15 minutes after that — just by doing that, he will get the reward of an accepted Hajj and Umrah. Not just Hajj and Umrah — tammatan, tammatan, tammatan — complete, complete, complete. And accepted Hajj and Umrah. He said it three times. Just for performing a few two raka'ah of Salatul Ishraq, because you remembered Allah after Fajr.

And then whoever performs another two raka'ah — all the hawa'ij and needs of the day are being fulfilled. Allah is giving us that. The one who performs Awwaabeen — four or six raka'ah after the sunnah of Maghrib — is written from amongst the awwaabeen. Awwaab is the one who turns to Allah intensely, the one who does inabah — who turns his direction towards Allah. So by performing four or six raka'ah after the sunnah of Maghrib salah, your name is being listed among those who are constantly turning to Allah.

Allah's Help for Those Who Follow the Sunnah

When a person goes out in the path of Allah, when a person is sacrificing in the path of Allah, then they are not alone. Allah is going to help you the way He helped the prophets. Because there are no more prophets coming after the Prophet ﷺ. Who are the sahaba? The sahaba are not prophets. But the sahaba had nature serve them — whether it was fire, air, wind, water, the earth, or the animals. There are stories for each one of these. The forces of nature were subjugated for the sahaba. And the sahaba, as I said, were not prophets. So whatever happened with the sahaba can happen with us and anyone else — on the condition that we have the qualities that the sahaba had.

Every karama of a sahabi and every karama of a wali is in reality a mu'jiza of Rasulullah ﷺ. There's no way a wali or so-called wali can ever have a miracle if he's not following Rasulullah ﷺ. So when you have people who claim to do miracles but they don't pray, they pray without wudu, they don't fast because they say they're special people who've been given special instructions — you know this is all bogus. And if you say, "But I saw a miracle happening," that's called irhas. Irhas is when you have supernatural things happening at the hands of people who don't follow the deen. That is not a karama of a wali. It's istidraj — it's going to take him down, and it's deceiving other people.

The Ummah: Last to Come, First to Enter

My beloved brothers, from the beginning till now, what have I spoken about? All of these are gifts that Allah has given this ummah, so that on the Day of Judgment, we are — as the hadith says — al-akhirun, al-sabiqun yawm al-qiyamah: the last ones who came in this dunya, but we're going to be in the front.

If you go on a flight, you see all the time — you have different lines. You have economy, you have business, you have first class. And then you go to the boarding, the long process of boarding. And subhanAllah, what happens? You see people who have come late, but they have boarding group one. For some people, this is like the biggest thing in life — "I got boarding group one!" There's a long line of a hundred people, but the group one area is empty and they go straight through. That's what we are. The ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ is group one.

But we're not just group one who showed up on time to the gate. We're the group one that shows up, goes and enjoys the business lounge, eats here and there, prays salah, takes its time, and then goes to the gate and still enters first. So this is the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ — the last ones to come, but the first ones to enter.

For all of this to happen, Allah chose to change the formula of our deeds. And to top it all off — the final thing — is Laylatul Qadr. That Allah gave us Laylatul Qadr, something He did not give others. If a person is able to make ibadah on Laylatul Qadr, then Allah is giving him the reward of not one night or twelve hours — not one month or one year — but the reward of a thousand months.

And is it exactly a thousand months? No — better than a thousand months. And just like Wallahu yuda'ifu liman yasha' — Allah increases for whoever He wills — we have no idea what that means. Depending on the sincerity, depending on perhaps the difficulty. The people of Gaza have Laylatul Qadr right now too. How can we compare ourselves to them? Their Laylatul Qadr and their ibadah is of a whole different degree. So Allah — pure goodness. Ibadah in this night is better than a thousand months.

So if a person even gets one Laylatul Qadr, he's already got a minimum of 83 years. Alhamdulillah, you live up to a life of 30, 40, 50 — inshallah 60, inshallah 70. At least 63? At least the age of Rasulullah ﷺ. So imagine you've got at least 45 to 50 Laylatul Qadrs.

Surah Al-Qadr: A Detailed Overview

Allah says in Surah al-Dukhan:

Indeed, We revealed the Qur'an in the blessed night. The ulama have said that this ayah in Surah al-Dukhan is referring to — some have said the 15th night of Sha'ban, that's one opinion — but another opinion of many scholars is that this is Laylatul Qadr, the Laylatul Mubarakah. It's a very blessed night. Let's go quickly over Surah al-Qadr:

Inna anzalnahu fi laylat al-qadr — Indeed, We revealed the Qur'an in Laylatul Qadr.

Wama adraaka ma laylat al-qadr — O Rasulullah, what do you know about Laylatul Qadr? The reason this question is asked like this is to emphasize the magnitude: do you know? Do you know how great of a night this is?

Laylat al-qadr khayrun min alfi shahr — Laylatul Qadr is better than a thousand months. Meaning, the ibadah of it is better than a thousand months of ibadah.

Tanazzal al-mala'ikatu wal-ruh — the angels, and specifically Ruh — Ruh is referring to Jibreel عليه السلام. Jibreel and the angels descend in this night.

Bi'idhni rabbihim — with the permission of their Lord.

Min kulli amr — with every single decision that Allah has decided till the next year.

Salamun hiya hatta matla'i al-fajr — there is so much salam of angels. We don't even hear it. What's happening? Billions of angels are all around the world descending on Laylatul Qadr, giving salam to all those who are making ibadah. SubhanAllah. And what is salam? It's a du'a. So the angels are giving du'a to all of us sitting here and to all those across the globe. And this continues until the break of dawn.

Virtues of Laylatul Qadr: A Summary

Ibadah in the night of Laylatul Qadr for a few hours is equivalent to more than an average lifespan — more than 83 years. So Allah is giving us, for a few hours, ibadah worth an entire life.

This is the night in which Allah revealed the entire Qur'an from the Lawh al-Mahfuz — the Preserved Tablet — to the first heaven.

Many ulama say that Laylatul Qadr is that night in which rizq is distributed, and who is going to die that year is announced to the angels. That's a very big decision — how much sustenance you have, and if you're going to live till the end of the next year or not. Those people who passed away today or yesterday — that announcement was made last Laylatul Qadr. Malak al-Mawt received the full report of whose soul he has to take for the entire year.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2014; Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1665)

Allah forgives whoever stands in this night with iman and ihtisab — with faith and with expectation of reward. All his sins are forgiven. So definitely there is a portion of the night that needs to be spent standing in salah. That's why I've been emphasizing the Taraweeh. Even if you don't usually pray the entire Taraweeh, please pray every single rakah for these nights. And then don't stop there — you can pray your qada salah. If you have salah to make up, try your best every single night to make up a day or two days' worth.

In this night the angels descend all the way till Fajr, bringing from Allah mercy, blessings, and goodness.

Signs of Laylatul Qadr

Some of the signs of Laylatul Qadr: one of them is that it is not a very hot night, nor a very cold night. When the sun rises, the rays of the sun are not super strong, but rather very light in their redness. And then of course the aspect of it possibly being some rain or light rain. Because the Prophet ﷺ when he made sujud — and the sahaba made sujud — there was soil and mud on their foreheads, because there were no carpets, just ground, and the ground gets wet when it rains.

Valuing the Night and Making the Most of It

There is a beautiful saying: whichever night you value is your Laylatul Qadr. Qadr in Urdu means value, and in Arabic it also means value:

"You all did not value Allah." Allah says that. So they say: whichever night you value is your Laylatul Qadr. For a person who's sinning all night, it's not Laylatul Qadr for him. Anyone who makes tawbah — that's his Laylatul Qadr.

Now, some may ask: "We have programs in the nights — a candlelight conversation, and others — brother, this is the night for ibadah." My beloved friends, ibadah is contingent on tawbah, repentance. And tawbah requires a person to acknowledge and recognize his flaws. If a person does not even recognize and realize his flaws in his actions and his beliefs, then unfortunately the ibadah may not be very fruitful at all.

The purpose we have programs in the night — especially geared towards our young adults — is so that a lot of the fundamentals of the deen that need to be addressed can be addressed. So that people can recognize their strengths, their weaknesses, and make amends with Allah. The purpose of these talks is not for the sake of talking and listening, but rather to make our Laylatul Qadr truly accepted. If we can have anyone walk away saying, "SubhanAllah, I've changed my life after that talk" — that's the goal.

And if a person stands up all night but doesn't even have proper tahara, then all that ibadah may be useless. That's why before you do ibadah, you have to learn the basics — from tahara to wudu, and to aqeedah, belief, and your approach in life.

A Call for Silence and Focus in I'tikaf

Shaykh Zakaria رحمه الله in his I'tikaf would have one rule — he said: "You wanna sleep? No problem. You wanna eat? Eat, of course, after iftar. But no talking." That was the rule. So now the issue is not just talking — it's texting and surfing. That should be our rule: only talk when needed, only talk when necessary.

Ask yourself: "I'm talking to him — what am I doing? I'm taking his valuable time, and it's Laylatul Qadr. This person only has 5 hours. Is it worth it for me to be talking to 4 people? I've now taken 40 minutes of 4 umma members of Rasulullah ﷺ. I wasted that. So I'm not just harming myself — I'm harming everyone I'm speaking to."

Create an environment — downstairs, upstairs, in the side halls, wherever you go — of silence as much as possible. The masjid should be a complete place of ibadah. And please, absolutely no social media. You need to call your home? Fine. But there's no reason for us to be checking the news or scrolling social media while we're here. Whatever questions you have, alhamdulillah, there are many ulema and students of knowledge here — ask them. But try your best to create an environment where we're not on our phones.

I want these 9–10 nights for all of us — for me and for all of us — to be transformative. And it will not be transformative if we're hanging around with our phones. So either you use it responsibly, keep it locked and shut off, turn it on only when needed. Or if you feel like you're an addict and won't be able to do that — there's our office in the back lobby. Just go turn it in, we'll give you a ticket, you keep the ticket with you. Whenever you need it, go get it — once a day, once every two days, whatever it is. But if you know yourself, that you're going to be on it, please let us not walk away saying, "I tried I'tikaf, it wasn't all that."

It will be the best, wallahi, it will be the best — if we simply don't waste our time.

Nightly Programs and Schedule

Alhamdulillah, every night we have these programs. After Fajr with Mufti ibn Hajj till Ishraq. After Dhuhr — about 45 minutes to an hour — with different ulema: Mufti Hassan Sheikh and Marwan Uthman Akhtar will be doing different workshops. After Asr till Maghrib, we'll have the daily du'as of Rasulullah ﷺ, followed by dhikr and du'a till Maghrib. And then after Isha, Mufti ibn Hajj's tafsir. And lastly at 1 a.m., myself and one co-host — every single night a different topic — where you have an opportunity to ask many questions. The goal is not for me to just talk, but for us to actually have a conversation and address some serious contemporary issues facing the Muslim community.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah to make every one of these programs transformative for the speakers, transformative for the listeners, and transformative for those who are in I'tikaf. We ask Allah that all those people who are sitting in I'tikaf across the entire globe — from Haramayn Sharifayn to Masjid al-Aqsa and here — may Allah make everyone's I'tikaf a means of 100% transformation. May Allah accept everyone's du'a. May Allah grant forgiveness to everyone. May Allah allow everyone to repent.

All those mothers, sisters, and women who are making I'tikaf in their homes — may Allah accept theirs as well. May Allah inspire them to continue to work hard in their du'a and ibadah. And all those brothers who are doing khidmah and serving the brothers in I'tikaf for these 10 days and nights — may Allah give them the reward of everyone who is doing ibadah.

And may Allah make this journey of these 10 nights a beautiful journey in which there is no argumentation, no fighting, no nafs coming in between, no shaitan coming in between — but all of us, very smoothly, with great harmony, making ibadah collectively. Ameen, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

Collective Du'a

Now we will do a few minutes of dhikr and then make du'a collectively. Please come close together, away from the walls. If you need a chair, you can sit on a chair — no problem. Be comfortable. But please sit as close as possible.

One of the etiquettes of du'a is that everyone says Ameen — istajib — "O Allah, accept." This is very important. As we are doing the du'a, we all participate in saying Ameen.

Focus on your heart. Allah says:

Remember your Lord in your heart. Focus on your heart saying: Allah, Allah, Allah. Do not move your lips, do not move your tongue. Just focus on your heart beating with Allah's name.

Oh Allah, Oh Most Merciful, Oh Most Gracious, Oh Most Loving, Oh our Nourisher, Oh our Provider, Oh our Protector, Oh our Creator, Oh the One to Whom we must return, Oh the One Whom we will face on the Day of Judgment, Oh the Creator of Jannah, Oh the Creator of Jahannam, Oh the Creator of everything that we see and everything that we don't see — Oh the One Who has provided us every single blessing that we enjoy today.

Oh Allah, Oh the One Who granted us iman, Oh the One Who granted us parents, the One Who granted us spouses and children, Oh the One Who granted us the beautiful gift of Islam, Oh the One Who gave us the tawfiq to be born into the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ, Oh the One Who granted us enough health to be here today, Oh the One Who gave us the tawfiq to be here in this masjid at this hour, Oh the One Who has enabled us to fast, enabled us to do qiyam, Oh the One Who has given us tongues to be able to take His name, Oh the One Who has given us fingers to move the tasbih, Oh the One Who has given us the ability to give sadaqah in His name, Oh the One Who has given us the tawfiq to be able to pick up a mus'haf and read, Oh the One Who has given us the ability to take care of our parents, our spouses, and our children, Oh the One Who has given us the ability to smile, to eat and drink, to breathe — to inhale and to exhale, Oh the One Who allows our systems to work so seamlessly without us even realizing what's happening.

Ya Allah, Ya Arham al-Rahimin, Ya Akram al-Akramin — there is no greater need that we have than Your forgiveness. There is no greater need that we have than Your pleasure. There is no greater need that we have than You guiding us to the right path.

Ya Allah, on this blessed night of Jum'ah — Oh Allah, on this 21st night, the odd night of Ramadan — Oh Allah, as we are surrounded by hundreds of men and women, we ask You to grant all of us that which we need most. Oh Allah, grant us Your forgiveness. Oh Allah, please forgive all of us. Oh Allah, please do not allow these words to be empty words. Ya Allah, allow us to seek forgiveness from the bottom of our heart. Allow us to feel remorse in our hearts.

Oh Allah, we are at a loss of words to speak about our own sins. Oh Allah, our hands are so dirty — they should not even be allowed to be raised in front of You. Our tongues are so dirty — they should not even be allowed to say Your name. Oh Allah, our bodies are so dirty — they should not even be allowed to be present here. Oh Allah, but You have overlooked all of our faults, You have hidden our faults from each other. Oh Allah, the way You have allowed us to come here tonight — do not allow us to stand up from this gathering but in a state where You have chosen to forgive all of us.

Oh Allah, please forgive all of us. Oh Allah, those sins that we are thinking of right now, and those that we have completely forgotten about — those that we have done once and those that we have repeatedly done for decades — those that we have repented from in the previous Ramadans, and those that we have unfortunately never gotten a chance to repent from before tonight — those that we have done many, many times in public and those that we have only chosen to do in private — those that we have done individually and those that we have done collectively — those that we have done shamelessly and those that we have done bashfully and ashamed of ourselves — Ya Allah, we ask You to forgive all of those sins.

Oh Allah, forgive us for not regarding ourselves as the absolute worst of sinners. Oh Allah, forgive us for not debasing ourselves the way we should in front of You. Oh Allah, forgive us for thinking ourselves to be something. Oh Allah, forgive us for thinking ourselves to be superior to even an animal, for thinking ourselves to be superior over even a disbeliever — for indeed we don't know in what state we shall die, and what state a disbeliever may die in.

Oh Allah, forgive us for every single time that we have used the blessings You have given us right against You. Oh Allah, forgive us every single time we have used the limbs, the wealth, the health, and the time that You have given us — not to obey You but rather to disobey You. Oh Allah, forgive us when we thought that when we were hiding from the world we could actually hide from You. Oh Allah, forgive us when we thought the darkness of the night would hide our sins, not realizing that You are the Creator of darkness. Oh Allah, forgive us for thinking that if we forgot our sins that You had also forgotten our sins.

Oh Allah, forgive us for thinking that just because no one was speaking about us, You also were not aware of our sins. Oh Allah, forgive us for thinking that without us seeking forgiveness, without us acknowledging each and every major and minor sin, we would automatically be forgiven. Oh Allah, forgive us for having the audacity to think that we can lead our life in any manner we want and then show up randomly one night expecting to be forgiven.

Oh Allah, forgive us for all the foolish ways we have led our lives. Oh Allah, forgive us for not truly recognizing Your greatness, Your might, and Your power. Oh Allah, like a child who plays with electricity and a knife, not knowing what he's playing with — Ya Allah, we have messed around with Your anger, with Your Jalal, not realizing what we were doing. Ya Allah, we truly have not understood even the smallest portion of Your might and Your power, and that is the reason we are such sinners.

Ya Allah, forgive us for not loving You the way You ought to be loved. Oh Allah, forgive us for never thinking that You are the Being who ought to be loved the most, and that You are the Being who loves us the most. Oh Allah, forgive us for not spending even an hour in the past year speaking with You. Oh Allah, forgive us for having spent countless hours surfing the internet, talking to people who don't want to talk to us, and watching people who don't care whether we care about them or not — while we have not spent quality time with You.

Oh Allah, forgive us for not even knowing how to speak with You. Oh Allah, forgive us for enjoying the company of everyone except for You. Oh Allah, forgive us for feeling alone when no one is around us, not realizing that we are never alone —

That You are with us all the time. Oh Allah, we ask You to forgive us for the thousands of missed opportunities — on every Friday, every single night before Fajr, every single day after our Fard Salah when we quickly ran out without raising our hands and making du'a. Forgive us for every night that we didn't wake up for Tahajjud and cry in front of You.

Ya Allah, today You have brought us to Your house. Today You have inspired us to raise our hands in front of You. Ya Allah, we ask You to grant us that which does not harm You. Oh Allah, forgiveness does not harm You in the least. Ya Allah, making all of our sins into zero will not take away from Your grandeur and Your might. Oh Allah, replacing all of our sins with good deeds will not diminish from Your treasures in the least. Oh Allah, we are fuqara — we are beggars at Your door. We know there is no other door to knock at besides Yours.

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept us as sinners who acknowledge their sin, as criminals who acknowledge their crime, as a runaway slave who has chosen to come back to his Master. Ya Allah, please accept us back in. Oh Allah, a mother whose son runs away angry — and after running around for days, nights, or months, he chooses to come back one night — even the mother of today, when she sees her son standing at the door, her heart softens even though that son has hurt her feelings so much. They will open the door and welcome that son and daughter. Oh Allah, You definitely love us more than any mother loves her child. Oh Allah, You love us more than any father loves his son or daughter. Oh Allah, we ask You to let us back in.

Oh Allah, we may have shed crocodile tears in the past, Oh Allah we may have faked it — Ya Allah but today we're not faking it. Ya Allah, today we're actually sincere. Oh Allah, we see the suffering happening around us. We see thousands of people dying. Hundreds of people from our community have died from last year to this year. Oh Allah, we don't know if we're ever going to get another Ramadan again. We don't know if we're ever going to get an odd night on Jum'ah again in our entire lives. Oh Allah, none of us are getting younger — we're getting older, and our aches and pains and our white hair remind us of how close we are to death.

Oh Allah, we beg You tonight — please Ya Allah, change the direction of our hearts away from running after the material things of this world to running towards the akhirah. Oh Allah, turn the direction of our hearts away from the creation to the Creator, away from wealth towards good deeds.

Oh Allah, I beg You on behalf of everyone — please, Ya Allah, we don't enjoy committing sins. We do not enjoy turning our backs towards You. We do not enjoy sleeping away from our obligations. We do not enjoy wasting our time. We do not enjoy having bad character with one another. We do not enjoy missing our prayers. We do not enjoy being stingy. We do not enjoy not guarding our gaze. We do not enjoy not guarding our ears. We do not enjoy making huge blunders with our tongue. Oh Allah, but unfortunately we have addictions — we are slaves to our lower selves, we have the shackles of Shaitan around us, and the shackles of our nafs around us.

Oh Allah, honestly all of us want to change. We have tried to change for decades, for years. Oh Allah, but we do not at times have the best of friends, the best of environments, the best of colleagues, or the best of environments at home. Oh Allah, and yet even though we want to change, we find ourselves back to where we were last year. We take one step and go back ten steps. Ya Allah, no one can change our trajectory except You.

Oh Allah, tonight might be the night when our death sentence is being given. Oh Allah, tonight the announcements are being made — so-and-so is going to die within the next 365 days. Oh Allah, who is going to get how much rizq is being decided today. Ya Allah, we ask You to have mercy on us. Allow our destiny to be beautiful. Allow the ending and end result of our destiny to be in our best interest.

Oh Allah, the Lawh al-Mahfuz — the Preserved Tablet — none of us have seen. Oh Allah, it's already written. The names are clearly written — who is among the wretched ones and who is among the fortunate ones. Ya Allah, we beg You, as earnestly as anyone could beg, that if our name is written among the wretched ones, we beg You Ya Allah on this blessed night to remove our name from that list. Oh Allah, there is no power in the world — no jinn or human, no superpower — that can remove that name from that list beside You. Ya Allah, that is only Your domain.

Oh Allah, I beg You Ya Allah to make the future for all of us beautiful. I ask You Ya Allah to make the remainder of our lives far better than the past. Oh Allah, allow every remaining night and day of our lives to be spent in a manner that You want to see — in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Oh Allah, the heart is where the battle is taking place. Oh Allah, the heart is where the genocide is happening. Oh Allah, we ask You to please save our hearts. End the genocide of our hearts. Oh Allah, allow us to become men and women focused on our journey towards You. Ya Allah, we are suffering from countless spiritual diseases — too many to count. Allow us Ya Allah to be forgiven for those diseases that we understand and those that we don't even recognize yet. And Oh Allah, do not just forgive us — cure us from those diseases. Ya Allah, whether it's arrogance, whether it's jealousy, whether it's rancor and hatred, whether it's looking down upon others, whether it's lust, whether it's greed for money, whether it's stinginess, Oh Allah whether it's disdain for people of deen, disdain for the Sunnah, Oh Allah whether it's hypocrisy, whether it's ostentation and show, Oh Allah whether it's any level of shirk and kufr — Ya Allah, we ask You to cleanse our hearts fully. Oh Allah, wash our hearts with Zam Zam, wash our hearts with the waters of Hawd al-Kawthar, wash our hearts with the rivers of Jannah, wash our hearts with Your glance of mercy.

Oh Allah, we ask You for one glance of mercy. Oh Allah, please — one glance of mercy takes nothing away from You, and it will literally change our entire life. Oh Allah, we beg You to glance at us with the eyes of mercy now. We ask You Ya Allah through the barakah of the little ones, the innocent ones, the elderly, the sick among us — that You look at all of us with the glance of mercy.

Oh Allah, we are not hypocrites. Oh Allah, we are not evil people. Oh Allah, we are sinners but we are not evil. Oh Allah, we always wanted to become better people. Oh Allah, our circumstances at times do not support us. Oh Allah, You know what's in our hearts. You know whether we are actually sincere or not. I ask You in the name of the sincere ones among us to grant forgiveness to all of us. Oh Allah, grant all of us the ibadah of Laylatul Qadr — not only this year, but every single year that we ever live.

Oh Allah, on this blessed night, I ask You for all those who are having marital problems — end their issues. Ya Allah, miraculously bring the husbands and wives back together. Oh Allah, allow the husbands and wives to throw away their nafs and fight against the Shaitan that is breaking the homes. Oh Allah, allow the children to become a source of happiness for the parents. Allow the parents to raise each and every one of their children appropriately and properly. Ya Allah, put immense love and mawadda between every parent and their child. Oh Allah, extinguish the fires from our homes. Allow our homes to echo with dhikr, du'a, and the recitation of the Qur'an. Allow our homes to be places of soft speech, respect, generosity, and kind good manners.

Oh Allah, we ask You — all those who are not married, or who are previously married, or who are looking to get married for the first time — Oh Allah, grant all of them the best of spouses. Oh Allah, allow everyone to remain chaste until they get married. And allow the doors of haram to close upon them until the door of nikah opens up for them. Oh Allah, allow every single person to find a spouse that will help make this world a Jannah for them, and that will help them prepare for the akhirah. Allow the husbands and wives to become spiritual companions for one another, pushing one another towards goodness.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant amazing levels of reward to our parents and our teachers. Oh Allah, those of our parents who are alive — allow us to keep serving them until they are pleased with us and You are pleased with us and Jannah is written for us. Oh Allah, all those parents and children who are not on speaking terms — allow everyone to repent on this night and make it up to each other. Oh Allah, every single son and daughter who is not speaking with his or her parents — allow them to get reconnected again. Allow whatever Shaitan and nafs has come between the parents and the children to be removed.

Oh Allah, accept the du'a of every parent that he or she is making on behalf of their children. Oh Allah, every mom and dad, every grandparent making du'a on behalf of their kids — accept them.

Oh Allah, we ask You — for all of us who have lost our elders, our parents and grandparents and teachers — allow all of our good deeds that we have done so far to be given as a sadaqah jariyah for them. Oh Allah, all the good that we have done so far — allow it to be sadaqah jariyah on behalf of every ummati of Rasulullah ﷺ, starting from Rasulullah ﷺ till the last person who has passed away. Allow them to receive the rewards in the grave.

Oh Allah, anyone who has helped build Darussalam to where it is today and who is no longer alive — wherever in the world they may be — allow them to receive the reward of every single SubhanAllah that has happened here, every single verse of the Qur'an that is recited, every single life that is changed here. Allow all those stakeholders, whether alive or dead, to be getting the full sadaqah jariyah of every inch of goodness that has happened here, is happening here, and will happen in the future.

Ya Allah, grant us a salah built of quality. Oh Allah, grant us the salah of the sahaba, the du'a of the sahaba, the dhikr of the sahaba. Oh Allah, grant us the qualities of the sahaba — their ikhlas, their generosity, their chivalry, their courage, their bashfulness and hayaa. Oh Allah, every quality that the sahaba had by virtue of which You used them for the spread of deen — grant us all those virtues and qualities.

Oh Allah, allow the ummah to awaken. Oh Allah, if we are sleeping, awaken us. If the leaders are sleeping, awaken them. If the ulama are sleeping, awaken them. If the kings and prime ministers of the Muslim world are sleeping, awaken them. Oh Allah, bring a revival of Islam across the globe. Bring a revival of Islam across the globe. Bring a revival of Islam across the globe.

Oh Allah, let the suffering across the Muslim world be a means of hidayah for the rest of us. Oh Allah, let every drop of blood that has been shed, and every boy and girl that has been killed, and every honor that has been looted, become a means of the ummah awakening. Ya Allah, unite the ummah. Allow the ummah to feel the pain of those who are suffering.

Oh Allah, help our brothers and sisters in Sudan, and in Bilad al-Sham, and in Palestine, and especially in Gaza. Oh Allah, we ask You to grant them Your special assistance on this blessed night. Oh Allah, we have nothing to show besides earnest du'a. Forgive us for not being able to do much more. Oh Allah, allow our du'a to be a means of at least averting Your punishment from us.

Oh Allah, those thousands and millions of Muslims who have not visited a masjid yet in this Ramadan — allow them to come to Your masjid. Oh Allah, those thousands who have yet to fast this month — allow them to fast in these remaining days and nights. Those who have not yet stopped committing their major sins — allow these beautiful nights and days for them to repent. Even if they don't want to — drag them to their masjid and allow them to repent.

Ya Allah, those of us who have sons and daughters and relatives who are away from the deen — whether they are non-Muslims, or they are Muslims who left Islam, or they are Muslims involved in major sins — Oh Allah, we ask You to guide them. Oh Allah, those who are suffering from depression, those who are suffering from mental illnesses, those who are suffering from various emotional and psychological problems, those who are suffering from physical problems — heart disease, cancer, and all sorts of other diseases, critical illnesses, short-term illnesses — Oh Allah, we ask You to grant them all shifa. Grant them all shifa. Grant them all shifa.

Ya Allah, those sons and daughters of the ummah who are suffering from various addictions — whether it's video games, whether it's watching haram, whether it's smoking haram, whether it's drinking haram — Oh Allah, they are sitting in some basement, stuck for days, weeks, and months. Oh Allah, on this blessed night guide them as well. Allow them to come out of their addictions, allow them to come out of their holes. Allow their parents' and siblings' du'as to be accepted on their behalf. Ya Allah, there are so many boys and girls in our neighborhoods and communities who are completely disconnected from their own family members, sitting on their screens all day and all night. Ya Allah, we ask You to grant us protection from this pandemic of the misuse and overuse of technology.

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept the I'tikaf of those who began tonight. Allow the I'tikaf to be extremely transformative for every single one of us. Oh Allah, those who have done I'tikaf in the past — allow this I'tikaf to supersede every previous I'tikaf. Those who are coming here for the first time — allow it to be a life-changing experience. Oh Allah, allow every one of us who comes to this masjid and all other masajid to utilize the time in the most productive manner. Oh Allah, please save us from the temptations of nafs and Shaitan, especially while we are in the masjid. Oh Allah, keep our mu'takifeen healthy. Oh Allah, please save our mu'takifeen from falling ill. Ya Allah, those who have already fallen ill — grant them complete shifa.

Ya Allah, allow every one of us to speak to You. Allow every one of us to make even longer du'as in seclusion. Oh Allah, allow every one of us to open our heart and pour it in front of You. Oh Allah, we know You are listening to us. Oh Allah, we know You are the only One who can change our lives. Grant us the enjoyment of speaking with You. Grant us the enjoyment of du'a.

Ya Allah, we ask You to grant us all the khair and good that the Prophet ﷺ asked You of, and we seek refuge in You from the evil that the Prophet ﷺ sought refuge in You from. Oh Allah, all the du'as that we have asked You till now — accept them all. We have asked You for forgiveness, we have asked You for the straight path, we have asked You for good morals, we have asked You for the training of our children, we have asked You for the best ending of our faith. Oh Allah, grant us all of these things.

Ameen, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.