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by Raiiq Ridwan

Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Power) is the greatest night of all nights. Various narrations mention when it can be or will be. The most accepted narrations indicate that it will be sometime in the last ten nights of Ramadan, most likely to be the odd nights, with one specific narration referring to the 27th night of Ramadan. The Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam indicates that he would strive in worship throughout the last ten days and nights of Ramadan, specifically by isolating himself in the Masjid for Itikaf.

However, there is one dilemma. How would a sister who is going through menses deal with Laylatul Qadr? She is not allowed to pray, not allowed to fast, not allowed to recite or touch the Quran. Is Allah depriving her of a chance to worship in a night which equals the one thousand months?

Know that you are worshiping by not worshiping!

The statement might sound like an oxymoron but in reality that is what it is! Allah says in the Quran “Whoever obeys God and His Messenger, stands in awe of God, and keeps his duty to Him will be triumphant” [1] So by not praying, not fasting and not reading Quran you are in fact worshiping Allah because you are obeying His commandments and the command of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam through your activities. Therefore, never feel that Allah is not giving you the opportunity. In fact, you are being rewarded anyway.

A scholar once said, “Her praying while pure is worship and her refraining from prayer while menstruating is worship. All of it is worship.”

You are rewarded for your intentions.

The fact that you are willing to worship Allah and that you wish your period came later so that you could have worshiped Allah is a sign of your intention. And in Isla, just making an intention, a good intention, counts as a full good deed in and of itself. So, you aren’t really losing out on it!

Listen to the Quran

The Quran was sent by Allah as a spoken word, and listening to it being recited is also an act of worship in and of itself. Listen to the Quran, ponder over its translation and meanings. If you do not understand Arabic, try listening to a video that shows the translation along with the recitation, or go for an audio that has the translation immediately after. Or just listen to a tafseer lesson by a scholar.

Ask Allah’s forgiveness when he mentions Hellfire, and ask for Allah’s bounty when He mentions Paradise. When Allah mentions stories of the righteous, ask to be like them, and when Allah mentions stories of the wretched, ask to be distanced from their behaviour.

Make a lot of dhikr (remembrance) of Allah

While you cannot pray or fast, you can still make dhikr! And in fact the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the most pure in the sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest order and is far better for you than spending gold and silver, even better for you than meeting your enemies in the battlefield where you strike at their necks and they at yours?” The Companions replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Remembrance of Allah.” [2]

Allah has kept the door to the best of deeds open for you— make best use of it. The famous jurist and Hanafi scholar, Ibn Abidin recommended that a menstruating woman make ablution (wudu) for each prayer time, sit in her usual place of worship, and make dhikr for the time it takes for her to normally pray so that she does not lose her habit of worship while in this state.

Send blessings upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam

Allah says in the Quran: “God and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet– so, you who believe, send blessings upon him too and give him greetings of peace”. [3] No other deed did Allah mention that He does it, His angels do it, so believers do it too, except sending blessings upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Make it a habit to send lots and lots of blessings upon the Prophet. Even just repeating sallallahu alayhi wasallam or saying Allahumma salli alaa Muhammad counts as sending blessings upon the Prophet.

Give generously in charity

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that the best of charity is the one given in Ramadan. [4] He also said that charity is a proof of faith [5], and protects from the fire of hell [6].

Need any more motivation?

Make lots of dua

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Dua is worship” [7] and Allah says, “Call upon Me and I will respond to you” [8] Here is an article of mine in which I have written about improving our chances of having our duas accepted in Ramadan.

There are lots more than can be done, but for now this is a good healthy list to keep in handy, in case you cannot pray on the greatest night of the year!
[1] Quran 24:52
[2] Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, Ahmad and al-Hakim
[3] Quran 33:56
[4] Narrated by at-Tirmidhi
[5] Narrated by Muslim
[6] Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim
[7] Narrated by at-Tirmidhi
[8] Quran 40:60

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