ul-Qadr (Night of Qadr) is the most blessed night. A person who misses it has indeed missed a great amount of good. If a believing person is zealous to obey his Lord and increase the good deeds in his record, he should strive to encounter this night and to pass it in worship and obedience. If this is facilitated for him, all of his previous sins will be forgiven. Praying at night It is recommended to make a long Qiyam prayer during the nights on which Laylat-ul-Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many Ahadith, such as the following: Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: “We fasted with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) in Ramadan. He did not lead us (in Qiyam) at all until there were seven (nights of Ramadan) left. Then he stood with us (that night – in prayer) until one third of the night had passed. He did not pray with us on the sixth. On the fifth night, he prayed with us until half of the night had passed. So we said, ‘Allah's Messenger! Wouldn't you pray with us the whole night?' He replied: ‘Whoever stands in prayer with the Imam until he concludes the prayer, it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.'...” (Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and others; authentic) Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever stands (in Qiyam) in Laylat-ul-Qadr (and it is facilitated for him) out of faith and expectation (of Allah's reward), will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim; the addition “and it is facilitated for him” is recorded by Ahmad; it means that he is permitted to be among the sincere worshippers during that blessed night.) Making Du'a It is also recommended to make extensive Du'a on this night. Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that she asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), “O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylat-ul-Qadr, what should I say during it?” And he instructed her to say: “Allahumma innaka ‘Afuwwun Tuhibbul Afwa fa`fu `annee – O Allah! You are forgiving, and you love forgiveness. So forgive me.” (Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Al-Tirmidhi; authentic) Abandoning worldly pleasures It is further recommended to spend more time in worship during the nights on which Laylat-ul-Qadr is likely to be. This calls for abandoning many worldly pleasures in order to secure the time and thoughts solely for worshipping Allah. Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “When the (last) 10 started, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would tighten his Izaar (i.e. he stayed away from his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the whole night awake (in prayer), and wake up his family.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) And she said: “Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to exert more (in worship) on the last 10 than on other nights.” (Sahih Muslim) __
