Night 1

Lesson from Juzz 1

And ˹remember˺ when Abraham raised the foundation of the House with Ishmael, ˹both praying,˺ “Our Lord! Accept ˹this˺ from us. You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Our Lord! Make us both ˹fully˺ submit to You¹ and from our descendants a nation that will submit to you. Show us our rituals, and turn to us in grace. You are truly the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful.

Our Lord! Raise from among them a messenger who will recite to them Your revelations, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Indeed, You ˹alone˺ are the Almighty, All-Wise.”

1^st lesson:

O’ Allah, Accept our Tasks / Ibadah

Note [1]: Ponder on the story of Ibrãhīm (a.s.) ; study his life; see how he took his son and wife to the land where now Mecca stands, and settled them there; how their lives progressed until finally the“sacrifice” of Ismã‘īl took place and, in the last moment, he was ransomed by Allãh; read how they together built the Ka‘bah. You will find that it is a complete cycle of devotional journey. It shows how a servant proceeds from his “self” to his Lord, from a far away station to the centre of “Divine Nearness”;how the journey is accomplished avoiding the vanities of this world, shunning its protection, keeping away from its desires –prestige, wealth, women and children – freeing oneself from the intrigues of satans, not letting them pollute the purity of intention,and turning with total surrender and progressing with completedevotion to the Lord, the Great, the High. These apparently unrelated events are in fact of an unbroken series. They are historical narratives, but they describe the stages of the spiritual journey of a servant from self to the Lord. They teach us the discipline of that journey, instruct us in the rules andmanners of seeking nearness to Allãh, of reaching His presence. The more you meditate on his story, the deeper will be your spiritual understanding – you will come to know the demands of Divine love and sincere devotion.

2^nd Lesson:

PERTAINING TO REPENTANCE

 

Nu’man b. Bashir reported: Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a believing servant than of a person who set out on a journey with a provision of food and drink on the back of his camel. He went on until he came to a waterless desert and he felt like sleeping. So he got down under the shade of a tree and was overcome by sleep and his camel ran away. As he got up he tried to see (the camel) standing upon a HIGH AREA (mound). but did not find it. He then got upon the other mound, but could not see anything. He then climbed upon the third mound but did not see anything until he came back to the place where he had been previously. And as he was sitting (in utter disappointment) there came to him the camel, till that (camel) placed its nosestring in his hand. Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than the person who found (his lost camel) in this very state. (Muslim)

 

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying : Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said: I live in the thought of My servant and I am with him as he remembers Me.

When he draws near Me by the span of his hand. I draw near him by the length of a cubit and when he draws near Me walking I draw close to him hurriedly.  (Muslim)

Repentance is a door of mercy through which you turn towards the right path. It is a decisive human decision to keep away from wrongdoings and deviation. Allah has made repentance obligatory for every Muslim, even our last Prophet Muhammad PBUH himself used to say Astaghfar 70 times a day.

Evil Deeds Change Into Good Deeds

Repentance does not only remove the darkness of sins but it also replaces the darkness with light.

Except him who repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And whoever repents and does good, he surely turns to Allah a (goodly) turning. Surah Furqan, Verse 70

Repentance Brings Happiness In Life

It is related in Tafsir al Qurtubi that Hasan al-Basri (r.a) was once seated. A man came saying ” O Master, I’m very sinful do tell me an act which I can do to be forgiven”. Hasan al-Basri (r.a) replied, “Go and do Istighfar”.

Second person came and said, ” O Master, for many days rains have stopped and there is drought. Tell me an action through which Allah (s.w.t) will send down rain to us”. Hasan al-Basri (r.a) replied, “Go and do Istighfar”.

Third person came and said, ” I am under a lot of debt. I am working, but please make dua that Allah (s.w.t) give me wealth so I can be saved from debts”. Hasan al-Basri (r.a) replied, “Go and do Istighfar to Allah”

Fourth person came and said, “It is a wish of mine that Allah (s.w.t) give me an offspring. So please make dua that Allah (s.w.t) gives me pious offspring”. Hasan al-Basri (r.a) replied, “Go and do Istighfar”

Fifth person came and said, “I have a orchard please make dua that it gives more fruits, so that the return will be more.” Hasan al-Basri (r.a) replied, ” Go and do Istighfar”

Sixth person came and said, “If I was to get water spring in my house, I will be so pleased”. Shaykh Hasan replied, “Go and do Istighfar”.

Shaykh Hasan al-Basri’s (r.a) disciple, Ibn Sabih (r.a) who was sitting close, was very surprised thinking, “Why is it that Shaykh Hasan al-Basri (r.a) is giving the same solution of Istighfar to whoever comes to him”? So Ibn Sabih (r.a) eventually asked “Why are you giving one response for all the problems”? On hearing this Shaykh Hasan al-Basri (r.a) recited what Allah (s.w.t) said in Qur’an:

 

(Nuh) said (to them): ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-forgiving; He will send rain to you in abundance, and give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.} [Surah an-Nuh (71): 10-12]

^{3rd Lesson:}

Raise from among them a messenger who will recite to them Your Quran / revelations, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them

 How can it be applicable right now /  to us?

 Raise among us Scholars / Torch bearer generation to educate the people the knowledge of Islam and prepare them the skills to spread the knowledge of Islam.

Abu al-Darda’ (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.” [Related byTirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i, Ibn Maja, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and others]

We should raise a generation who will be learning Quran and teach others the Quran & Purify themselves and others using Quran & Sunnah.

 The Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, “Whoever reads the Quran, learns it, and acts in accordance with it, on the Day of Resurrection, his parents will be given a crown to wear whose light will be like the light of the sun, and his parents will be given garments which far surpass everything that is found in this world. They will say, ‘Why have we been given this to wear?’ It will be said, ‘Because your child learned the Quran.’”

[Al-Haakim; Al-Albaani: authentic]