As Laylat Al-Qadr approaches, here’s how you can maximise your duas

Laylat-al-Qadr is known as the Night of Power because it’s the holiest evening in Islam.

During this night, Angel Jibril revealed the Holy Qur'an’s first verses to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The exact date of the night falls within the odd numbers of the final 10 nights of Ramadan, but it is commonly thought to be the 27th of Ramadan.

The Qur’an describes Laylat Al-Qadr as being better than 1,000 months, so every year, Muslims strive to reap the rewards of this night through prayer, charity and other good deeds.

This means, if your heart longs for something, making a prayer on that one night is as though you’ve prayed for it for 1,000 months.

As we know, Allah listens to our most silent prayers. He is Al-Latif – Arabic for the knower of the subtle. We also know that there is etiquette to making dua, which we should keep in mind when we’re speaking to Allah on this holy night.

These etiquettes are not compulsory, but they are of the Sunnah and loved by Allah.

· Making wudu before dua: Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw), after the battle of Hunain, called for water, performed wudu, then raised his hands and made his dua.

· Raising your hands in dua: The Prophet (saw) said, ‘Indeed your Lord - Blessed and Almighty is He - is Shy and Most Generous. He is shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in du’a) to turn them away empty’. (Abu Dawud)

· Begin and end your duas by praising Allah and his beloved Messanger (PBUH): The Prophet Muhammad said: “When one of you [prays], then let him begin by expressing gratitude to Allah and praising Him. Then, let him send Salat upon the Prophet, then let him supplicate after that, whatever he wishes.” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi)

· Believe Allah can and will answer your duas: In a Hadith Qudsi, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: ‘Allah says: 'I am just as My servant thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me’ (Abu Hurairah). If you feel inadequate while making your dua, use this as a chance to get to know yourself better. What are the root causes of you feeling the way you do? Don’t judge yourself or beat yourself up, just be aware and work through it in your dua journey – this is called Jihad al-Nafs (the battle of the self) and Allah will recognise your efforts in taking that extra step to connect with him.

· Centre your heart in dua: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi). If you can’t clear your mind, breathe into your heart space

Don’t miss Laylat al-Qadr, set up auto-donate now

The last ten nights of Ramadan are believed to be the most important of the holy month, as this is when the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) received the first verses of the Qur’an. This is remembered today through zakat donations being spread across the final ten nights, including Laylat-al-Qadr donations for additional rewards in the Hereafter.

If you are interested in setting up your donation to be spread across the Last Ten Nights, ensuring your rewards, we are here to help.

This year, My Ten Nights allows you to split your Zakat and Sadaqah across the last ten nights – so you never miss giving on Laylat ul Qadr again.