The days of Ramadan are a special time when the blessings and mercies of Allah The Almighty are bestowed abundantly. So let us hasten to acquire the gifts of our Lord in the mosques and look for them during the third part of the night.

Purify yourselves physically and spiritually as you stand before Allah, The King, conversing with Him through reciting the Quran and supplications. The only means to receive His gifts is to be granted acceptance. So, cling to His door, pursue the means and beseech Him, for this leads to an eternal victory that cannot be compared to any worldly gain. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.} [Quran 3:185]

The blessed nights of Ramadan should appropriately be called ‘The Nights of Hope’, because of the hoped-for forgiveness, mercy, being freed from Hell, witnessing the Night of Al-Qadr, praying through its night out of faith and seeking the reward of Allah The Almighty. Hence, the worship of that one night is better than the worship of one thousand months.

It is the hope of the promise of Allah The Almighty that is revealed in the Quran and alluded to by the Prophet  in many Hadeeths (narrations) about the ten blessed nights and the Night of Al-Qadr. Allah The Almighty promised great rewards that cannot be imagined – only within those few days. These rewards are sought only by a believer and are missed only by those who are in a state of loss.

Hope overwhelms the hearts and souls, thus drawing them nearer to the beloved, enabling them to feel very close to Allah The Almighty and sense His Majesty. It is to receive glad tidings about the generosity of Allah The Almighty. It is to have confidence in the promise of Allah The Almighty; and there is no hope but it is accompanied by a righteous deed. Having hope while being lazy in worship and indulging in unlawful acts is only a false desire and wishful thinking. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {wishful thinking deluded you until there came the Command of Allah. And the Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah} [Quran 57:14] Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr  said, “It (hope) is to commit the sin and wish for forgiveness.”

The people of hope submit to their Lord and worship Him. They purify their hearts and souls with good deeds, abide by their Lord’s commands, and their hearts are delighted by hearing the Quran, their bodies quiver out of fear of Allah The Almighty, and their eyes shed tears out of apprehension. They see the blessings of Allah The Almighty given to them and sense the greatness of their shortcomings in fulfilling the rights of Allah The Almighty. They are ever thankful to Allah The Almighty and remember Him frequently.

When Ahmad ibn ‘Aasim Al-Antaaki  was asked, “What is the sign of the slave’s true hope in Allah?” he replied, “To thank Allah The Almighty when they are encompassed by the benevolence of Allah, hoping for the perfection of the blessing in this worldly life and complete pardon in the Hereafter.”

Shaah Al-Kirmaani  said, “Perfect obedience is the sign of hope.”

When Allah The Almighty described the Companions who had true hope in their words and deeds, He Said (what means): {Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allah - those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran 2:218]

Qataadah  said, “Those were the best of this Ummah (Muslim nation), for Allah made them the people of hope, as you hear. Whoever hopes for something asks for it. Whoever fears something flees away from it.”

In the context of the hope of those who perform Tahajjud (voluntary night prayer), Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]?} [Quran 39:9]

Allah The Almighty again Says in another verse (what means): {They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend.} [Quran 32:16]

In their Tahajjud and supplication, they hope for Allah The Almighty. They do not hope for Allah The Almighty’s forgiveness without performing good deeds, nor perform those deeds without having hope in Allah The Almighty.

People who have hope in Allah The Almighty attach their hearts to Him and rely on Him in achieving whatever they want, as well as warding off harm and driving away their concerns. They have hope in Allah The Almighty publicly and privately and in all their affairs of this world and the Hereafter.

Their staunch hope in Him fills their hearts, even if what they hope for is late in coming or if what they fear happens. Their trust in Allah The Almighty is greater than their trust in people. Their certainty in the promise of Allah The Almighty is far greater than what they see as being contradictory to what they hope.

Contemplate the story of Ya‘qoob, may Allah exalt his mention, when he hoped for the return of his lost son Yoosuf, may Allah exalt his mention! Despite the fact that he had become blind crying out of sadness over the lost child, he never stopped having hope in Allah The Almighty but hope that he would meet Yoosuf, may Allah exalt his mention, again. When prophet Ya‘qoob's, may Allah exalt his mention, children blamed him for this his, may Allah exalt his mention, answer was his hope in Allah The Almighty that made him believe He could achieve for him what he knew humans could not. The blaming of prophet Ya‘qoob’s, may Allah exalt his mention, children and his reply for that mentioned in the Quran as this. Allah Says (what means): {They said, “By Allah, you will not cease remembering Yoosuf until you become fatally ill or become of those who perish.” He said, "I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you do not know.} [Quran 12:85-86]

What did he know from Allah The Almighty that they did not? He knew that Allah The Almighty is the Most Kind and Merciful, and this knowledge strengthened his good expectations of Him and his hope in Him. Let us ponder over his advice to his children to shun despair and to fill their hearts with hope and good expectations of Allah The Almighty in the verse (which means): {O my sons, go and find out about Yoosuf and his brother and despair not of relief from Allah. Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people."} [Quran 12:87]

When Ya‘qoob, may Allah exalt his mention, received the glad tidings that his son was found alive and unharmed, then he, may Allah exalt his mention, said some words that Allah The Almighty mentioned in the Quran (what means): {He said, “Did I not tell you that I know from Allah that which you do not know?”} [Quran 12:96]

It is a great hope in Allah The Almighty. Allah The Almighty rewarded Ya‘qoob, may Allah exalt his mention, for it in this worldly life by reuniting him with his beloved son, restoring his sight, removing hatred from the hearts of some of his children towards others, and raising his rank in this worldly life due to the esteem of Yoosuf, may Allah exalt his mention. However, the reward of the Hereafter is greater and more enduring.

We are in dire need to have hope like that of Ya‘qoob, may Allah exalt his mention, during these blessed nights of hope.

If a person was given the opportunity to meet the greatest king of the world, to sit and talk with him alone, and to be presented with his best gifts, he would stop eating and sleeping out of extreme joy. He would count the days and minutes waiting for this meeting. Allah The Almighty has promised us a special opportunity to talk to Him privately in the blessed nights of Ramadan, and promised us special gifts that are different from those of the whole year.

Hence, we hope that Allah The Almighty grants us the blessings of these days and nights: fasting during the day, praying during the night and performing acts of worship during the Night of Al-Qadr. The Prophet  said:

• “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith while seeking its reward from Allah, will have his past sins forgiven.”

• “Whoever stands (in night prayer in) Ramadan out of faith while seeking its reward from Allah, will have his past sins forgiven.”

• “Whoever stands (in night prayer in) the Night of Al-Qadr out of faith while seeking its reward from Allah, will have his past sins forgiven.”

• “Some are freed from Hell by Allah, and that happens every night (in Ramadan).” So, what of the last ten blessed nights?

The Prophet  also said that our Lord The Exalted descends[1] to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night and Says (what means): “Who supplicates Me, so that I will answer his supplication? Who asks Me, so that I will fulfill his demand?” So, what about the nights that conceal the best night in the whole year?

This abundant generosity from Allah The Almighty in the month of rewards necessitates filling our hearts with hope in Allah The Almighty. Have hope in Allah The Almighty while offering night prayers, reciting the Quran, seeking His forgiveness and supplicating Him. You are dealing with the Most-Generous, the Most-Kind and the Most Merciful. He is more Merciful to you than yourselves, and Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Whatever Allah grants to people of mercy - none can withhold it; and whatever He withholds - none can release it thereafter. And He is the Exalted in might, the Wise.} [Quran 34:2]

So, fear Allah The Almighty, obey Him and fill your hearts with good expectations of Him, hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.} [Quran 18:110]

Let us end this month on a good note, perhaps we may not witness it the next year. Let us invest the remaining nights and frequently seek the forgiveness of Allah The Almighty and ask Him to accept from us.

One of the good means to end this month is to pay Zakat-ul-Fitr, in order to make up for any shortcomings in our fasting and benefit our needy brothers and sisters. It is obligatory for us according to Ibn ‘Abbaas  who said, “The Prophet  made Zakat Al-Fitr compulsory so that those who fast may be purified of their idle deeds and vain speech (committed during Ramadan) and so that the poor may be fed. Whoever gives it before the ‘Eed prayer will have it accepted as Zakah, while he who gives it after the ‘Eed prayer has given charity.” [Abu Daawood]

It is equal to one Saa’ of food. It should be given before the ‘Eed prayer. It is permissible to be given one or two days before ‘Eed as the Companions  did. Ibn ‘Umar  said, “The Messenger of Allah  enjoined Zakat-ul-Fitr one Saa’ of dates or barley upon Muslims: free and slave, male and female, young and old, and he enjoined that it should be given before the people go out to the prayer.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Naafi’  said, “Ibn ‘Umar  used to give it on behalf of the young and the old. He even used to give it on behalf of my children. Ibn ‘Umar  used to give it to those who accept it. They were given it before (the ‘Eed of) Fitr by one or two days.” [Al-Bukhari] 

[1] We believe in the Attributes of Allah that occur in the Quran and authentic Hadeeths of the Prophet, , without distorting their wordings or meanings, nor denying, nor asking how, nor drawing resemblance between Allah and any of His creation.