By Shaykh Anisul Haque
6 March 2026

﷽ 

Ramadan moves quickly. What once felt distant now sits right in front of us: the final ten nights of the month. Nights that are not ordinary, moments that are not like the rest of the year. These are the nights that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prepared for with an intensity unlike any other time.

Aisha (radiyallahu ‘anha) said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would strive in the last ten nights in a way that he did not strive at any other time.

[Muslim]

Even though his all sins were forgiven – past and future – the Prophet ﷺ increased his effort when these nights arrived. He spent the night in worship, awakened his family, and devoted himself completely to seeking the pleasure of Allah.

If that was the example of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then what about us?

Most of us enter Ramadan carrying years of neglect, distractions, and shortcomings. Yet Allah, in His immense mercy, places within these final nights an opportunity that can transform a lifetime.

Allah says:

Better than a thousand months. More than eighty years of worship. A single night outweighing the worship of an entire lifetime.

But the tragedy is not that Laylat al-Qadr will fail to come. It will certainly come. The real tragedy is that it may come and go while our hearts remain distracted, our attention absorbed by the dunya, and our nights spent as though they were ordinary.

If we are honest with ourselves, many of us have experienced this cycle before. Every year we hear reminders about the virtues of the last ten nights. We feel motivated for a short time. Yet when Ramadan ends, little in our lives actually changes. The same habits return. The same distractions remain. The same distance from Allah quietly settles back into our routines.

The problem is not that the opportunity is small. The problem is that our hearts have not fully grasped its reality.

Laylat al-Qadr is not simply a special night. It is a night in which destinies are written. A night when angels descend in numbers beyond comprehension. A night filled with peace until the break of dawn. A night where a single sincere moment can outweigh years of heedlessness.

But such a night cannot be approached casually.

The final ten nights demand preparation, sincerity, and urgency. They call for worship that is intentional, focused, and sincere.

One of the most powerful ways to experience these nights is through i'tikaf – secluding oneself in the masjid for the sake of Allah alone.

I'tikaf is often misunderstood. It is not simply “staying in the mosque.” It is a conscious withdrawal from the noise of life in order to reconnect with the One who created life.

For a few precious nights, the believer steps away from the constant distractions of work, notifications, conversations, and obligations. The focus becomes singular: drawing closer to Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ never abandoned i'tikaf in the last ten nights until his death.

Aisha (radiyallahu ‘anha) said:

The Prophet ﷺ used to observe i'tikāf in the last ten nights of Ramadan until Allah took his soul.

[Bukhari, Muslim]

In a world that constantly pulls our attention in every direction, i'tikaf offers something rare – a time to reflect.

Many people travel far and spend large amounts of money searching for peace through holidays and retreats. Yet Allah has already placed the greatest spiritual retreat in His own houses – the masajid.

Alongside i'tikaf, the nights of Ramadan call us back to another powerful act of worship that has slowly disappeared from many of our lives: Qiyam al-Layl.

Night prayer was the habit of the righteous long before it became a Ramadan programme in our masjids. The great scholars of this Ummah built their relationship with Allah through long hours of private worship.

Imam al-Shafi'i (d. 204 AH, rahimahullah) was described by his student al-Rabi as someone who slept very little during the night because of his devotion to prayer. Likewise, Imam Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH, rahimahullah) was known to stand in prayer for long portions of the night, sometimes repeating a single verse of the Qur’an again and again while reflecting on its meaning.

These were not public acts of worship. They were moments of quiet reflection between a servant and his Lord.

This is something many of us have lost. We often rely entirely on congregational prayers in the masjid. While these are beautiful and beneficial, the true sweetness of Qiyam is often found in those moments when a person stands alone before Allah in the stillness of the night.

Finally, one of the most overlooked aspects of Ramadan worship is reflection upon the Qur’an itself.

Many of us listen to beautiful recitation during Tarawih or Tahajjud. The recitation moves us emotionally. We may even shed tears. But very often we do not actually understand what is being recited.

Imagine how different our prayers would feel if we truly understood the verses we were hearing.

Imagine standing in prayer while knowing that the verse being recited speaks about mercy, forgiveness, paradise, or accountability.

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d. 795 AH, rahimahullah) described how the Prophet ﷺ would recite the Qur’an slowly during night prayer. Whenever he encountered a verse of mercy, he would ask Allah for it. When he passed a verse describing punishment, he would seek refuge in Allah from it. In this way, he combined prayer, recitation, supplication, and reflection.

This is the type of worship that transforms the heart.

The final ten nights of Ramadan are not simply about longer prayers. They are about deeper sincerity. They are about reconnecting with Allah in a way that leaves a lasting impact long after Ramadan ends.

These nights may never return for us again.

And if they are truly better than a thousand months, then every moment within them is far too precious to waste.

Ameen.

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