BEST DUAA IN THE BEST NIGHT OF THE BEST MONTH | Ustadh Mohamad Baajour | Jumuah Khutbah |EPIC Masjid

Opening Announcements

We have just a couple of du'as insha'Allah. We have Sister Negat Siddiqui, she was admitted to the hospital due to her cancer. We ask Allah to give her a complete shifa. We have a few brothers that passed away this past week and they did not make it to the last 10 nights. We ask Allah to forgive all their sins and grant them the highest place in Jannah.

There will be no fundraising today but I really request you, since it's the last Jumu'ah of this blessed month, it could be possibly the last Jumu'ah, so please on your way out, any amount to support your masjid will be appreciated. And Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah said, the sadaqa of Jumu'ah is better than the sadaqa of any other day. How about the sadaqa of the last Jumu'ah of Ramadan? May Allah accept from all of us.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. Ameen. I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger. I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger. Ameen. Ameen.

The Weight of Laylatul Qadr

The nights that we have left, how can we make sure or do our best to make sure that we have earned the blessing of Laylatul Qadr? A night that Allah, the Creator, called the virtue in it better, not equal. Sometimes we translate it as equal. Better than a thousand months not of life. Better than a thousand months, I am fasting all day and I'm up all night in Salat. This night is better than living 83 years of complete ibadah. Better than 83 years.

Like I went to work, how much do you make per month? I make $5,000. I'm going to give you 1,000 months salary. $5,000,000. Just finish this project in 10 days. I want me and you to feel the weight of these nights. $5,000,000, what would we do? Wallahi we will make sure that the project is done. We will make sure not only done, perfected. I will not sleep. $5,000,000, how long I'm going to live to make $5,000,000? Or to save $5,000,000?

So that's it. What about if I go to pick up the $5,000,000 after the 10 days and the project was perfect, and on my way back I got an accident and I died. What do I do with the $5,000,000? The $5,000,000 stayed above the ground. But these nights will go with me to the grave. Illuminate my grave. Expand my grave. And will stay with me till the day of resurrection. So what are we doing? What is the plan? How can I come to such a huge opportunity without a plan?

Levels of Witnessing Laylatul Qadr

So there are different levels. There are different levels of witnessing Laylatul Qadr.

The Minimum Level

The minimum. Let's start with the minimum. The minimum to witness Laylatul Qadr is to pray Fajr and Isha in jama'a. That is the least. Pray Fajr and Isha in jama'a those few nights that are left. And subhanAllah, Fajr is at 6:50. Allahu Akbar. We have brothers texting me 3am, 2am, 4am. 6:50 for Iqama. Why? Because Rasulullah ﷺ said, "Whomsoever pray Fajr in jama'a and Isha in jama'a, then as if he has prayed the whole night."

And this is the whole idea. Look, Rasulullah ﷺ, he said:

"Whomsoever pray Qiyam in Ramadan, all his sins are forgiven," and then he narrowed the whole month into one night:

Allahu Akbar. From one month to one night. So the whole concept is to be up all night. Or most of the night. And Rasulullah ﷺ said, "If I pray Fajr and Isha in jama'a, as if I prayed the whole night." So this is the minimum.

Second Level

Second, from the bottom. Pray Fajr and Isha in jama'a, and then pray Taraweeh with the imam till he leaves. Now, I doubled down. Because the first hadith applies, and the second hadith where Rasulullah ﷺ said, "Whomsoever pray with the imam the Taraweeh till he finishes, and he leaves, it will be recorded as if he's up all night." Now I have two chances.

Third Level

Third, I pray Fajr and Isha in jama'a, and for the sisters, all of that, you are so blessed you could do the same thing when you are at home. Praying Fajr and Isha in jama'a, staying with the imam till he finishes Taraweeh, and then I get up again in the middle of the night, and I pray some extra qiyam, extra tahajjud.

The Best Level

And the best of the best that will confirm, bi-idhnillah, earning Laylatul Qadr, is full ten nights itikaf. Itikaf, real itikaf. Itikaf where daytime I am reading Quran and making dhikr. Nighttime I am praying and I'm making du'a.

Can I make just one night I am busy, I cannot leave work? Yes, the weekend is coming. I can make itikaf Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I can make itikaf Saturday only. I can make itikaf from Dhuhr to Maghrib. Any amount you can do, but don't let this month finish without two hours, one hour of itikaf, to revive the sunnah in your life. That was the sunnah of our Habib ﷺ.

What to Do in These Nights

My brothers and sisters, Aisha, our beloved mother, رضي الله عنها وأرضاها. Before I mention the hadith, what do we do in these nights? Four things.

1. Salat (Prayer)

If you feel that you have more khushu' in two rak'ah, pray two rak'ah only. Long ones, beautiful ones. If you feel that you have khushu' by praying 50 rak'ah, pray 50 rak'ah. Wherever you find your heart, wherever you find yourself closer to Allah, it's not about the quantity, it's about the quality.

For example, many people are so strict that we do not pray more than eight, and the witr, eleven. Allahu Akbar, excellent. The hadith is 100% authentic. طيب يا حبيبي, did you see the beginning of the hadith? يا عائشة, how was the salat of Rasulullah ﷺ in qiyam? She said:

He prayed eight rak'ahs with the three witr. We only take the quantity, but we did not look at the first part of the hadith, which is the quality. Everybody is so firm, the quantities. But the quality, Rasulullah ﷺ said, do not even ask how beautiful these two rak'ahs were, how these eight rak'ahs were. Don't ask how long these rak'ahs were. The other day the sheikh took two minutes extra in the salat. That was the talk of the community. SubhanAllah.

2. Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah)

So salat, dhikr, subhanAllah, in these best nights. Tell yourself, I'm gonna make 1000 istighfar every night, 500 istighfar. There's no specific amount by the sunnah. Whatever you feel like you can do it, Bismillah, I'm gonna make 1000 salat on Rasulullah ﷺ. I'm gonna make subhanAllah, walhamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah, wa Allahu akbar, 100 each. Whatever you want, keep the tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.

3. Reading the Quran

Salat, dhikr, and du'a. And reading the Quran. Reading the Quran, Allahu Akbar. What an offer, what an offer. Every letter is 10 hasana. Billahi alayk, I ask you by Allah, if it was every letter 10 dollars, would you put the Quran down? Wallahi, you will not put it down.

Challenge yourself. We have proven to ourselves that we can perform qiyam every night. We can read the Quran. Challenge yourself, 5-6 nights left, one juz' a night. Whatever you can, but challenge yourself. Don't get out of the comfort zone, especially these nights, out of the comfort zone. Every page is 5,000 hasana in regular days. In Ramadan, yudhaifullah. Allahu a'lam, how much hasanat in Ramadan. Allahu akbar.

4. Du'a (Supplication)

And then we come to the du'a.

The Best Du'a for the Best Night

Aisha radiallahu anha, subhanAllah, we all know this hadith. But I want today to dissect this hadith, so we can comprehend how profound is the du'a. Aisha radiallahu anha, wa ma adraaka man Aisha? She asked Rasulullah ﷺ, a very beautiful question:

إن وافقت ليلة القدر ما أقول؟ "Ya Rasulullah, if Allah blessed me, and I witnessed Laylatul Qadr..."

Notice something here. Did she ask her habib, when is Laylatul Qadr? Ya akhwan, oh the sun looks good ya shaykh, I think yesterday was Laylatul Qadr. Ya habibi, it was, it was not. Ya Allah, it's only, imagine Laylatul Qadr was 50 nights. What do we do? Look at the rahmah of Allah, it's 10 nights. That's it. She did not ask, "Ya Rasulullah, I'm your favorite wife. You have declared that you love me in front of everybody. Inni uhibbu Aisha. Tell me, when is Laylatul Qadr?" You do not know, you made it forget. Ask Allah, subhanAllah.

She did not ask, she said, "Ya Rasulullah, if I ever witness Laylatul Qadr, what should I say?"

The Significance of Who Asked

Another stop here. Does Aisha, does she, she doesn't know any du'a? She doesn't know much du'a, any? Who's, look who's asking, very important. Very important to know who's asking. The most knowledgeable woman ever, ever in Islam, ever. She's the one who's asking. The most beloved to Rasulullah ﷺ. We have to know this background before we look at the answer.

She does not know any du'a? She knows a lot of du'a, but she wants the barakah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Because no matter how me and you come up with, we hear the imams trying to rhyme as much as they can. It's not about rhyming. It's about where it's coming from. It's about how close it is to the du'a in the Quran and the du'a of the sunnah. So she wants to get a du'a from the man himself, from Rasulullah ﷺ.

And she knows, if you look at the du'as of Rasulullah ﷺ, subhanAllah, the longest du'a that I know is 2-3 lines. Very comprehensive. They cover everything. Like we know, the hadith I narrated yesterday or the day before, when he left our mother Juwayriya, after fajr she was making du'a. And he came back after hours, she's still making du'a. He said, "I have said four words. If they are weighed to whatever you have said for these hours, it will overweigh them." So his du'a ﷺ is comprehensive, deep, eloquent, to the point.

"Ya Rasulullah, if I witness Laylatul Qadr, what du'a should I say?"

The Answer: One Perfect Du'a

Now, I also another pause. Imagine how many du'as the doctor of the ummah, the teacher of the ummah knows. We have no clue about any du'a except from him ﷺ. So imagine, I want you to know the depth of this du'a. He did not tell her, go get a piece of paper, yallah, let me tell you there are 50 du'as I'm going to teach you. One du'a. One. Just one.

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, 3513)

انتهى الموضوع. Done. Allahu Akbar. The best man ever created answering the most knowledgeable woman when she asked him about the best du'a. And the du'a was five, six words. Allahu Akbar. To be said in the best night of the year. The night that is worth more than a thousand months of ibadah.

So how can I make any other du'a more than this du'a? I still make a lot of du'a for myself, for my parents, for my ummah, for my community, for my family. But my most du'a is this du'a. This is the whole idea, ya akhwan. Because we say it, اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي. No, no, no, no. No, your heart is in this du'a. You're thinking about what was the question, who was the person asking, who was the person answering, for when to be said. All of that is in my mindset before I raise my hand and I say, اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي.

The Etiquette of This Du'a

بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده. One of the etiquettes of du'a is to praise Allah first. He did not tell her, say, اللَّهُمَّ اعْفُ عَنِّي. If you look at the meaning, it's the same meaning. But no, he did not say, اللَّهُمَّ اعْفُ عَنِّي. No, no, no, no, there is some introduction first. اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ. Ya Allah, not only you are عَفُوّ, you also love, you love عَفْو. Look at this introduction.

And that should be the way we make any du'a. Whatever you want, have an introduction. Ya Allah, humble yourself. Humble yourself before you make the du'a. Tell Allah what you are going through. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, my children are driving me crazy. Ya Rabbi, so many problems with my spouse. Ya Allah, the debt is up to here. Ya Rabb, Ya Allah, Ya عَفُوّ, Ya Allah, I have sinned so much. Ya Allah, probably this is my first two rak'ahs in Ramadan. Ya Allah, إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ. Ya Allah, اعْفُ عَنِّي. Tell, express.

Zakariya, he expressed how he is in dire need.

Ayyub, "Indeed, harm has touched me." Express yourself before Allah.

The Power of Turning to Allah in Our Struggles

Ya Allah, Ya Allah, I've been harmed so much with my health and my wealth. Ya Allah, introduce. Tell Allah what you're going through. And then ask.

Ya Allah, don't forgive me and have عفو on me because I deserve it. Wallahi, you know, Ya Allah, that I do not deserve the عفو. Just have عفو on me because you love the عفو. I don't deserve it. What did I do to deserve the عفو?

Understanding the Depth of Afu

Because what is the عفو? عفو is not about forgiveness. عفو is forgiveness. Because when I forgive you, I still have in the back of my mind what you did to me. But when I have عفو on you, I forgive you and that thing that you have done to me have evaporated. It's gone. This is what I'm asking Allah.

Ya Allah, not only forgive me. Rasulullah ﷺ said, he did not say, اللهم اغفر لي. إنك عفو. العفو means to erase the traces of that sin that I'm asking you to forgive. It's gone. It's not there in the record anymore. This is how deep is this dua.

Ya Allah, إنك عفو تحب العفو. You love عفو. And Allah loves to... When Allah loves عفو, that means He knows that we are sinners. يحب التوابين. Allah loves the ones who constantly repent. Because He knows we constantly sin.

Never Despair from Allah's Mercy

So my brother who have sinned so much even in Ramadan, Wallahi, don't let the shaitan come to you and despair you from the rahmah of Allah. You still have these best nights. My sister, who's struggling with her hijab, struggling at home, come to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and beg Him in these nights to forgive everything and give you a brand new start.

Ya Allah, I am done, ya Allah. I'm done with sinning. And you are عفو. Not only you are عفو, but you love the عفو. So please ya Allah, I beg you. اعف عني.

The Mindset When Making Dua

And on the back of my mind. Listen, ya ikhwan. This is extremely important. When we make the dua, keep in the back of your mind few things. Number one, I am asking the one who named himself المجيب. He named himself, the one who answers. Not only سميع, not only he listens. أجيب. I answer.

I am asking the مجيب. I am asking the قريب. I am asking the قدير. I am asking the one who said:

There is nothing except I have the sources and the vaults of it. خزائن كل شيء. This is the one who I'm asking.

I am asking the one who Rasulullah ﷺ said, that Allah said, if the first of you and the last of you, the jinn of you, and the ins of you, gather all in one place, and they're all asking me, and I gave every single one of them their request, that will not decrease from my possession, just like the ocean will decrease when you put a needle in it. This is the one I'm asking.

I'm asking the one who loves me more than my parents. I'm asking, أرحم الراحمين The Most Merciful.

The Confidence That Comes from Knowing Allah

I have all of that in the back of my mind before I raise my hand. If I tell you, you came to me and you said, Brother, I need $5,000. I'm in dire need. I say, Brother, Wallahi, I don't have it. But Brother Ahmed, he is multi-millionaire. Extremely, extremely, beyond your imagination generous. And no one goes to him, except he gives him.

Before you even go, you already feel better. You already feel good. Just by hearing his qualities. And when you were there, you saw a guy coming from his house, smiling and said, Wallahi, I just asked him for $5,000 and he gave me. Now you have more assurance. Multiply that by a billion times when you're asking Allah Azza wa Jalla.

Don't let the mountain of your sins be an obstacle between you and making a sincere dua.

Making Dua for Others

Start with yourself. Make sure you make dua for your parents. Your parents, your parents. Your spouse, your children. I beg you, I beg you. As a brother that witnessed so many issues, I beg you to beg Allah to protect your children. Beg him.

Ya Allah, keep the hearts of my descendants firm on your deen. Many of our children are so confused. They have so much doubt. And we all see what's happening.

Make dua for your community. Ask Allah to protect specifically this masjid. Because we know the plots against our epic. May Allah protect our epic. And protect everybody who's helping epic.

And then make dua for the whole ummah. We all know what the ummah is going through. Just name a country, subhanAllah, you will find something in that country. All our brothers and sisters, make dua for them. There are countries that you never ever thought that something will happen with them. They are being targeted right now. And they're begging for dua.

So maybe it could be the same for us. We don't know. So we want to make dua when we are at ease. So when we need the dua, Allah will make others make dua for us.

Concluding Duas