The last 10 days of Ramadan are upon us, which means the world is a-stirring. Masjids are now holding Tahajjud Salah at 2:30 a.m. and flocks of people are attending. Laylat-ul-Qadr – the Night of Power – is on one of these days (we will go more in depth about Laylat-ul-Qadr in another post Inshallah).
It is believed that in these 10 days the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) would increase his time in his prayers. The Prophet’s wife Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “With the start of the last 10 days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to tighten his waist belt and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers.” (Bukhari)”
And of course in an effort to emulate the Prophet (peace be upon him), Muslims all over the world are increasing the time in their daily prayers and adding a few more recommended Salahs while they’re at it.
But that’s not where it ends, Subhanallah.
Part of being Muslim is being a righteous person.
And it is in these 10 days when Muslims truly begin to improve their character.
Of course gossip is tempting, but we hold our tongues with more vigor during these 10 days.
It’s so easy to get angry over little matters, especially with a lack of food in the system, yet in these 10 days we try to breathe and forgive instead.
Normally, who isn’t distracted by the tasks we have in our daily lives – work, school, the juggling act? But everything is put to the side during these 10 days. Ramadan has been listed as a month of many things; now we can add the month of character growth to that list.
In these final days of Ramadan the Ummah will band together in prayer at every Masjid. Muslims will stand side by side making dua for each other, for the ease of each other’s hardships, for the ease in each other’s tragedies, for the guidance and success of all of their Muslim brothers and sisters. In these 10 days we take the unique position of being completely selfish with our prayer times, and selfless in our duas. After all, the best gift a Muslim can give to anyone and receive from anyone, is dua.
The 30 Days of Ramadan series is written by Sobia Siddiqui, CAIR-TX Communications Intern. Enjoy more of her writing on her personal blog, Religion in the Melting Pot.
