Mufti Menk – Boost – How to Search for Laylatul Qadr
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the upcoming Easter celebrations, emphasizing the importance of the nights of Easter and the importance of following instructions to achieve forgiveness and fulfill promises. They stress the value of standing in prayer at night during busy busy busy times and offer guidance on what to do in the night. They also emphasize the importance of fasting, praising God's word, and avoiding harms' accuses. The speakers emphasize the need to improve oneself and stay out of harms' accuses, and offer advice on how to handle it. They end with a request for forgiveness and a promise of love and support.
AI: Summary ©
My beloved brothers and sisters, the 27th
of Ramadan
is a very, very important date.
And the reason I say this is because
of the narration of the prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, wherein he speaks about searching
for the night of decree,
the night of power or the night of
decree in the Arabic language, laylatul Qadr.
When we search for it,
the idea is to be able to worship
Allah through a number of days, not just
one.
But as human beings, we would like to
know,
what is the night? I want to know.
You see, we have a bit of impatience.
So people ask,
when is this night exactly? The true answer
is it's in Ramadan.
Right? So it has to be in Ramadan.
You can't come out in Dhul Hijjah and
say, hey, we've we've got to search for
Laylatul Qadr because
the days of Dhul Hijjah
are indeed
very, very auspicious.
Like the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
says, there are no
days in which good deeds are more loved
by Allah than the first 10 days of
Dhul Hijjah.
Those are days of Dhul Hijjah. The first
10 days of Dhul Hijjah are the most
powerful days in the lunar calendar. But the
nights we're talking about the nights.
The most powerful nights are the nights of
Ramadan.
Indeed, without a doubt. And from them, they
are powerful nights towards the second half of
Ramadan.
In the last 10 nights,
there is a greater chance that Laylatul Qadr
is in those 10,
the ones we are in right now.
And then he says,
Search for the night of decree
in the last in the odd nights from
the last 10 nights of Ramadan. How do
I search for the night?
By engaging in extra acts of worship, by
seeking the forgiveness of Allah, by praising Allah,
by reading some Quran,
by engaging in more salah or prayer, by
doing my taraweeh,
by enjoying that, by not indulging in that
which is prohibited,
especially
Ramadan.
But what is of importance is when Allah
has given
the value to a certain night more than
others to do something wrong in that particular
night would be even worse.
In Suratul Hajj, Allah speaks about
those
who ensure the sanctity
of that which Allah has given value to.
That is a sign of the piety of
the heart. When Allah Almighty tells you this
is an auspicious occasion, this is a blessed
place
to do wrong in that particular place or
on that particular occasion
intentionally
would be damaging to our belief and faith
in Allah Almighty.
So my brothers and sisters, to search for
the night is very important. We've already brought
it down to the odd nights from the
last 10 nights. That does not mean
it didn't go by already. Someone
asked me the other day, do you know
the odd nights are different from country to
country, from place to place?
Trust me,
Allah knows that the time of your suhoor
and the time of your Iftar is the
most blessed time
for the day.
And he knows that it's different timings, even
in different towns and different cities.
How he does it, he knows best. You
just follow the instruction. That's how it works.
When Allah says there is an hour on
a Friday wherein
it is or there is a moment on
a Friday wherein the dua or supplication that
anyone makes is answered immediately.
The Friday and the timings are different from
place to place.
The same applies to the time of the
Hajjud,
early morning.
That predawn time that is most blessed when
Allah is calling out to all of us
who is there, who is going to ask
me or seek forgiveness from me that I
can give them or forgive them.
And you and I know the time in
Australia is different from that in America, and
that in Europe is different from that in
Africa. How does Allah do it? He knows
best. He knows best. Do not despair and
don't let things baffle you that Allah has
kept the knowledge of Himself. You need to
understand if Allah says it is this way,
it is that way. Subhanallah.
And the same applies to everything else. Like
I gave you the example of the starting
and the ending of the fast on a
daily basis, the prayer times on a daily
basis, and so on.
So if Allah Almighty has kept you in
a place where
the odd nights for me, here they are,
He wants you to engage in worship. He
wants you to seek his forgiveness. He wants
you to spend that time in a way
that you have not spent
before. He in a positive way, obviously. So
he wants you to do goodness. We are
gathered here because
we would like to change our lives primarily.
When you go for Hajj
and you come back from Hajj and you
are still involved in your negative or bad
ways and habits,
that means you might have fulfilled your duty
of the Hajj, but you did not achieve
the broader benefit of the Hajj. The same
applies to Ramadan. The same applies to Laylatul
Qadr.
Although Laylatul Qadr is inside Ramadan, it is
one night that has the value of the
whole of the rest of Ramadan
and beyond.
That night of Qadr, that Laylatul Qadr, the
night of decree
is more powerful or better than a 1000
months. And that's why if you look at
the narrations of what you're supposed to be
achieving from Ramadan,
you're supposed to be achieving forgiveness.
And if you look at the narrations of
Laylatul Qadr,
itself
has the same
forgiveness. Listen to what the Prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, says.
You know what the rest of the hadith
is?
Whoever fasts
the entire month of Ramadan
with faith and conviction,
expecting a reward from Allah, all that person's
previous sins will be wiped out. That's what
Allah says. And then he goes on to
say,
Whoever stands in prayer at night in Ramadan
through the month
with conviction and faith, expecting a reward and
hoping for it from Allah,
Allah will wipe out all that person's previous
sins wiped out.
What was that for? That was for standing
in prayer at night throughout Ramadan.
And it's not easy.
When Allah tells us to do something, it's
not going to be easy. If the reward
is massive, it's got to be a difficult
task.
Allah alone makes it easy for us. If
you were to try and fast outside of
Ramadan, it won't be as simple as inside
Ramadan
because Allah has kept a blessing in this
month where when we do it collectively and
every one of us is here, mashallah Tabarakallah,
you will definitely find that Allah has created
ease for us. My brothers, my sisters,
for one night Allah tells us the same
thing through the blessed lips of Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam.
Whoever stands at night in prayer for Laylatul
Qadr
with full conviction and faith in Allah, hoping
for a reward from Allah, Allah will grant
them total forgiveness.
All that they've done previously
in terms of sin will be wiped out
and forgiven for what?
One night of prayer for Allah. So we
are searching for the night. Tonight could be
the night. We're searching for it. We are
here already from Salatul Assur, and mashallah, we
want to worship Allah. We want to obey
Him. Minimum is we will not sin on
this particular night. May Allah protect us from
sin, minor or major. May Allah help us
so we can read a little bit of
Quran. The beauty today, all of us have
the apps on our phones. All of us
have the apps on our phones with the
Quran. Am I right or wrong?
There we go. If I am right, why
don't we use those? You have a moment
or 2.
For example, before Iftar, just after sukhoor,
early morning, whenever in the evening, as you
are waiting between the salawat and the prayers,
why don't you open up and read a
little bit of what you
are supposed to be doing in terms of
Quran?
You can do that. That might be the
moment when Allah is giving out
the prizes to the people of forgiveness
and you are engaged in the worship of
Allah in one way or another.
This is not a night where we can
sit on our phones and socialize.
This is not a night that we can
sit on our phones and waste our time.
This is not a night where we sit
with each other in a lounge and we
say it might be Laylatul Qadr. And as
you're sipping your shisha, you say, Allahumma innakaafuuntripleafuafafuani.
Imagine.
That's not how the night of decree should
be spent. This is a serious night where
we make resolutions. We change our lives. If
you were to leave
tonight with your heart having moved and your
life having changed, good news to you. I
pray Allah includes us from among those whom
we're taught about when he says,
May Allah include us in those who will
be forgiven completely. Amin.
So my brothers and sisters, a special occasion.
Here we are, so many of us. Do
you know that Allah Almighty expects us
to look for this beautiful night and the
worship we're supposed to be engaging in, not
just on one night, You still have other
nights. You still have the 29th coming. You
have the 28th as well. You have so
many other nights. I don't want to speak
about what's gone already because I'm hoping that
at least we can get it tonight by
the will of Allah Almighty. May Allah Almighty
grant us ease.
My brothers and sisters, having gathered in large
numbers in this beautiful, beautiful venue,
we will need a lot of patience tonight.
We will need to reach out to others.
We will need not to be selfish.
We will need to share what we have,
Insha'Allah.
We will need to make space for others.
We will need to give and take. That's
all part of your test from Allah. Are
you part of an ummah? If Allah wanted
you to be an individual all alone without
interaction,
He would never have made compulsory
the congregational prayer. He would have never made
compulsory the Friday prayer that you have to
attend no matter what. May Allah Almighty accept
it from us. When you're going to interact
with people, naturally you will have differences.
Naturally some might have character and conduct not
in line with yours. Whoever may be right,
whoever may be wrong, you have to have
a big heart. You have to improve yourself.
You have to look within yourself.
What can I do to improve
the way I speak to my family members,
the temper that I have? I get so
angry. I abuse my family and those who
interact with me. I am not such a
good person.
If you can pick that up, the next
stage is, how are you going to rectify
it?
Are you serious about rectification?
Are you really serious that you are going
to learn to smile a little bit more
to help those around you,
not to be that selfish to be able
to share what you have with others. Look
at the night of decree. What are the
acts of worship you want to engage in
tonight? Let me tell you
the pillars of Islam. Besides Hajj, I want
to do all the others. So my shahada,
I keep repeating. 1st pillar of Islam, conviction.
And I believe there is none worthy worship
besides Allah. And I believe that Muhammad, peace
be upon him, is the final messenger of
Allah. Secondly, I'm going to pray my 5
daily prayers and I'm going to make sure
tonight I'm engaged in extra acts of prayer.
May Allah accept it from us. That's the
next pillar of Islam already done. Then the
fasting, Allah Almighty has kept this in the
month of Ramadan so that you can engage
in the pillar of Islam known as fasting.
Had this night been outside of Ramadan, you
would not be able to do
the compulsory fast of Ramadan, subhanAllah.
But here we are, we are fasting in
the month of Ramadan. The only exception, those
who have been granted from Allah Almighty.
The exception, those are the ones who have
that. Besides that, we are supposed to be
fasting. May Allah Almighty make it easy for
all of us.
Then we have a charity and a zakat
that which you are supposed to give from
what Allah gave you. Allah speaks about the
poor and Allah speaks about the needy. And
Allah says,
Give them from the wealth of Allah that
Allah gave you.
So Allah has made you a temporary custodian
of the wealth that you have in your
pocket. It's temporary.
It's going to go. It's going to be
depleted. You either waste it or you use
it wisely. And when you're using it wisely,
you either use it yourself or you happen
to expand and use on others.
The winners are those who can reach out
to others who are in greater need than
them. Allah loves that quality so much. When
you have and you know someone else does
not have, to reach out to them may
not be that difficult. But when you don't
have so much and you see someone who
has even less than you and then you
can reach out, that is actually a quality
that Allah praises in the Quran that was
found among the Ansar of Madinah Munawwara.
Allah speaks about the Ansar and He says,
they give preference to others
in things they themselves are in desperate need
of. I need this so much but that
person needs it even more than me. So
here I am giving it away. That's not
an easy quality. Allah says whoever,
whoever is saved from the miserliness
of their own nafs and themselves,
they are the truly successful.
They are the truly successful. So successful are
those who give. Tonight, we will have opportunity
to give what ever you would like to
give. Do you know why I'm encouraging you
to give? Because every night we should be
trying to engage in all these pillars of
Islam. It's obviously not easy
and it's not possible to engage in the
last one. But on a voluntary level, some
are fortunate
that they were able or are able to
do that. Those who are in Mecca right
now, they can do a voluntary
minor pilgrimage known as Umrah. And the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, says, whoever makes
the Umrah in Ramadan,
Allah will reward them equivalent to that of
a Hajj.
That's according to a narration.
So we ask Allah Almighty to reward us.
We ask Allah Almighty to grant us. Imagine
all your pillars of Islam in one day,
and you're going to be engaging in them.
Surely that's the night of power, the night
of decree.
May Allah soften our hearts. My brothers, sisters,
it is time to quit sin. It is
time to quit our bad ways. It is
time to learn to Allah.
Has the time not come? Has the time
not come for those who believe to soften
their hearts towards the remembrance of Allah and
not away from it, my brothers and sisters?
Has the time not come for those who
believe to soften their hearts, to humble their
hearts towards Allah and the remembrance of Allah
and whatever He has revealed
in terms of the truth, the Quran.
We need to soften our hearts towards Allah,
not away from Allah.
Say that supplication
often, oh Allah,
the turner of the hearts.
Turn my heart towards
your deen, your religion, your faith
and belief, towards goodness,
towards obedience.
O Allah, the turner of the hearts,
turn my heart towards you and not away
from you. That's a powerful dua.
Don't underestimate
the value of supplication. My brothers, my sisters,
every day we ask Allah to guide us
straight path.
Every day we repeat that so many times.
Guide us to the straight path because guidance
is in the hands of Allah.
We have an evening such as this, a
night auspicious given by Allah,
such as these nights of Ramadan.
My brothers,
they are not meant to go past just
like that. My dear sisters,
this is a night of resolutions
for the sake of Allah. If you've been
weak in something, strengthen yourself tonight. It's the
night of power.
You've been weak in quitting something you really
want to quit and you know you have
to quit. This is the night of power.
This is the night of decree.
You have to do something
tonight.
It cannot remain for
years on end. You don't know whether you're
going to see the next few days.
Subhanallah.
You don't know if you're going to see
another Ramadan.
And like I say, no one from amongst
us has a total guarantee
that tonight is definitely the night, but we
are looking for it. We're searching for it.
While we are searching for it, if that
has moved you already, it's beneficial for you.
It will better it will be better for
you than your entire life.
If hearts have been softened by Allah, they
will be softened when we reach out to
others. Today we are fasting, masha'Allah.
We have not eaten for hours. We have
not drunk anything for hours. Subhanallah.
And we are seated here all together. There
is almost pin drop silence when we were
doing salatul asr earlier. And I'm sure there
will be pin drop silence later as
well. No one would ever imagine that there
are thousands of people right here, right now
in front of me.
But that's Allah. He's given us a calmness
in Ramadan.
The condition of my heart is different from
outside of Ramadan. Seize the opportunity.
They say, make hay while the sun shines.
SubhanAllah.
We ask Allah to grant us ease during
these days of hardship. And we ask Allah
to grant us softening during these days of
auspiciousness
that He has given us and the nights
in particular.
My brothers, my sisters,
if everyone is rushing towards Allah,
don't be the only few left out.
Everyone is rushing towards Allah. I've just come
in from Makkatul Mookarama. And I can tell
you when I see the thousands of people
circumulating the Kaaba in Tawaf,
and I look at men from among them
are the famous and those who are not
known, the wealthy and those who are poor,
the influential and those who have no influence,
those who have few problems, those who have
big problems, the healthy and those who don't
have good health, those who've lost loved ones
and those who haven't, those who are there
for in order to cry, for Allah to
have mercy on them for something or another.
And you have those who may not have
had so many problems in their lives.
Everyone is there to please Allah. And I
feel like one small, minute,
insignificant
worshipper of Allah
doing the same thing, running around the Kaaba
like a little child,
searching for goodness, searching for the help of
Allah. And if I am not going to
be there doing the same thing, it's me
who has lost out. The same applies to
us tonight. If you are not going to
seek the forgiveness of Allah, if you are
not going to change your life, it's you
who's lost out. The others are all doing
that anyway. Why should I lose out? For
what?
Everyone is trying to mend their ways. Everyone
is seeking the forgiveness of Allah. Oh Allah,
forgive us collectively tonight.
My brothers, my sisters,
may Allah Almighty
have mercy on us.
When we see others, we are very quick
to judge people. We don't know their connection
with Allah.
Perhaps they cry at night to seeking the
forgiveness of Allah. And we are busy pointing
fingers at them, not realizing they are closer
to Allah than we ever were. We have
not yet tasted the sweetness of Iman.
And here they are
enjoying the fruits of faith, even though they
may be in greater difficulty and hardship
than yourself
and myself.
Sometimes Allah makes our lives easy.
That is a test from Allah. Are you
going to drift away from Him or are
you going to be more steadfast? When Allah
has given you a good job and a
good family
and good conditions and good situations, that is
a test from Allah for you. Are you
going to appreciate it or are you going
to turn away from Allah?
Is or are the gifts of Allah upon
you drifting away, making you drift away from
Allah?
If that's the case, tonight we need to
change that.
A true gift is that which brings you
closer to Allah. Otherwise, even when you get
everything this world has to offer, it does
not necessarily
mean that Allah is pleased with you. Allah
has given Fir'awn and k'run and Allah destroyed
them. The pharaoh had more than you can
imagine.
Karun, Allah Almighty describes the keys to his
treasures
were so heavy that it would be difficult
for a group of men to carry only
the keys.
Imagine what he must have had.
What do you have? And you and I
think we're a big deal?
And Allah says, fakhasafnaabihiwabi
dadarihil
arba because he was ungrateful. Karun.
We caused the earth to open and swallow
him and his entire household. Out. Gone.
Sudden. Look at what's happening across the globe
in terms of disaster,
natural disaster or manmade, whatever it might have
been, something caused by man,
warfare and so on. We ask Allah to
grant us peace, stability, security, serenity,
more than anything else, conviction and faith.
My brothers,
we have no guarantee that we're going to
be sitting in goodness and we're going to
be sitting in
whatever we have been blessed by Allah if
we are going to turn away.
Allah says, we can take that away from
you at any moment.
So therefore,
I want to know what's the way of
keeping what I have?
How can I keep what I have and
get more?
Whatever I have in terms of worldly life,
I have my family members. I have goodness.
I have a decent job. I have a
fair amount of money, for example. I have
a fair amount of
whatever other luxury not luxuries but goodness, okay?
And some go into the point of luxuries.
Okay. How do I keep it? Wallahi, my
brothers and sisters. Allah tells us in the
Quran how to keep that.
Allah says,
It's like an announcement from Allah that if
you are going to be thankful in the
true sense, we will grant you increase.
What is thankfulness in the true sense?
Obey the instructions of Allah and stay away
to the best of your abilities
from that which is displeasing to Allah. Wherever
you have faltered, turn to Allah very quickly,
very quickly because you and I are human
beings. We can falter, we can fall. We
may fall into sin like our forefather
Adam fell into. Exactly what Allah told him
not to do, he did. But the difference
between him and those who are not interested
in the relationship with Allah, he sought forgiveness
instantly
and some don't bother seeking forgiveness. That's why
Allah speaks about it in the Quran. He
says,
those who have wronged themselves, if they remember
Allah immediately and seek forgiveness immediately and regret
their deed and promise not to,
not to do that again. For example, Allah
Almighty says for them is paradise.
Those are the ones whom we've prepared paradise
for.
Imagine.
So when you sin, it doesn't mean you've
lost paradise. You still have hope for as
long as you're alive
and you're going to seek the forgiveness of
Allah and change your ways. Allah says those
are the ones whom we will grant paradise
to.
So we ask Allah to grant us a
turning point and we ask Allah to open
our doors, and we ask Allah Almighty to
accept us this evening for all our acts
of worship. May Allah bless us all. May
Allah soften our hearts so that we can
love one another, so that we can stand
up for one another, so that we can
support one another, so that we can help