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Dua of Laylatul-Qadr – Amazingly Explained

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Dua for Ramadan

What did the Prophet say to Aisha raḍyAllāhu 'anha (may Allāh be pleased with her), the mother of the believers and the beloved wife of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) when she asked him:

” يا رسولَ اللَّهِ أرأيتَ إن وافقتُ ليلةَ القدرِ ما أدعو ؟”

(Sahih At-Tirmidhi)

O Rasula Allah, if I witnessed and was able to tell that it is the night of decree, Laylatul-qadr, then what kind of dua should I make?

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He replied:

“تقولينَ اللَّهمَّ إنَّكَ عفوٌّ تحبُّ العفوَ فاعفُ عنِّي”

Say: (Allahumma ennaka ‘afuwun two-hebbul ‘afwa fa’foo annee)

“O Allah you are afw and love to implement afw so please have afw upon me”

Why did the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), with all the knowledge and wisdom which he had and with all the revelation which he received from Allah, give this particular answer to Aisha raḍyAllāhu 'anha (may Allāh be pleased with her) in regards to the greatest night out of the whole year?

This is the night, the hours between Maghrib to Fajr, which is more valuable than 1000 months, more valuable than 83 years and 4 months. In which a donation worth $1 is more valuable than donating $1 for every day for 30,000 days!

The night in which the book of guidance and food for our soul was revealed.

The night in which mercy, blessings, and peace descend along with the angels to the first heaven.

The night in which Allah descends after the 1st third of the night (Sahih Muslim) and says

أَنَا الْمَلِكُ أَنَا الْمَلِكُ (I am The King, I am The King).

And then He asks:

من ذا الَّذي يسألُني فأُعطيَه ؟ (Who is there to supplicate to Me so that I answer him) من ذا الَّذي يدعوني فأستجيبَ له ؟ (Who is there to ask Me so I can give him)

من ذا الَّذي يستغفرُني فأغفرَ له ؟ (Who is there asking Me to forgive so that I can forgive him)

…All of that greatness continues until dawn, until Fajr

“O Allah, you are afw and love to implement afw so please have afw upon me”

After all, that which is mentioned about that majestic night, the Prophet teaches Aisha to say these 7 words! That is it?

We are surprised because many just don’t know what ‘afw means or don’t know that one of Allah’s beautiful names is Al-Afw. And had you known, your mind would be in a state of shock and your heart would be touched.

Detailed Answer:

The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) could’ve said: “Allahumma ennaka ghafooron tohebbo al-maghferah faghfer-lee”. For you to appreciate the greatest customized dua’a for this specific greatest night you need to briefly understand the difference between ‘afw & maghferah which are both mostly translated as Forgive or Pardon.

Maghferah:

I will use the term in Arabic so you can keep track of what I am saying. When Allah yaghfer, then this means that Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) will conceal your sins in the dunya, and won’t expose you in the akhirah and won’t punish you for it but He will just remind you of it.

إن اللهَ يُدْنِي المؤمنَ ، فيَضَعُ عليه كنفَه ويَسْتُرُه ، فيقولُ: أتَعْرِفُ ذنبَ كذا: أَتَعْرِفُ ذنبَ كذا ؟ فيقول : نعم. أَيْ ربِّ ، حتى إذا قرَرَّه بذنوبِه ، ورأى في نفسِه أنه هلَكَ ، قال : ستَرْتُها عليك في الدنيا ، وأنا أغفِرُها لك اليوم ، فيُعْطَى كتابُ حسناتِه

– (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Allah will bring a believer near Him and shelter him with His Screen and ask him: Did you commit such-and-such sins? He will say: Yes, my Lord.

Allah will keep on asking him till he confesses all his sins and will think that he is ruined. Allah will say: ‘I did screen your sins in the world and I forgive them for you today”

Just thinking about it now, wouldn’t it be embarrassing that Allah reminds you of your past and how He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) was aware of the video you watched, the body you touched or that word you used to cuss… even though He still forgave you. May Allah protect us.

“What does the word Afw mean?

Linguistically it means:

المحو والطمس To wipe out and remove. The Arabs say: “عفت الريح الآثار”. The wind applied afw upon the traces. Meaning it removed and wiped out the traces. You can’t even tell if someone actually walked on this path or not.

Does the word have another meaning? Yes… it means Al-Kathra waz-zeyaadah. Excess & abundance.

Where can we get this meaning from? From Chapter 2: 219 :وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ

“And they ask you what they should spend. Say: “that which is in excess and beyond what you need.”

Technical definition:

With the linguistic definition in mind, what happens when you go to Allah Al-Afw and ask Him to have afw upon you on this great night when you go to Him with a conscious mind and heart and feeling regretful for the mistakes you have done.

And you say: “اللَّهمَّ إنَّك عفُوٌّ تُحبُّ العفوَ فاعْفُ عنِّي” Allahumma ennaka ‘afuwun two-hebbul ‘afwa fa’foo annee

Allah Al-Afw will:

(1) erase and wipe out your sins in a way that. He leaves no traces of it in your book of records. And He makes you forget it so you don’t feel nervous nor embarrassed when you are about to meet Him. And He doesn’t even remind you of it. And He doesn’t punish you for it.

(2) And He gives you whatever you asked for and more than what you asked for that which He knows is good for you. Allahu Akbar! Shouldn’t we truly appreciate this dua! Shouldn’t we say this dua from the bottom of our hearts?

Action Item:

O you, who are complaining and saying some of the following:

I am unable to pray Fajr. I am unable to lower my gaze and stop watching these inappropriate scenes. I am unable to stop backbiting, gossiping and lying. I am unable to respect and be dutiful to my father and mother. I am unable to connect with my ties of kinship. I am unable to be truthful enough in my prayers (when I say Allahu Akbar “Allah is greater than everything and anything” yet my mind is somewhere else). O you who is saying, I feel as if I am subjugated with heavy chains. I feel like there is a barrier between me and Allah. If you want the answer to all these complaints and others, then it is very possible that the answer to these questions may be: “Search for your sins”

A man came to Ali ibn Abi Talib raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) and told him: “O Ali, I was deprived of praying Qiyamul-layl, the night prayers and I don’t know the reason.” Ali told him: “أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ قَدْ قَيَّدَتْكَ ذُنُوبُكَ” You are a man who has been chained by his sins. Subhana Allah…

Go back to Allah tonight and break loose of these chains and don’t miss the opportunity of saying this dua in the last nights of Ramadan.

It is time that we turn back to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and break these chains that are excessively making us sin against Him.

Bismillah, don’t procrastinate

Let me share a story; there was a sister who was known among the people as not adhering to many of the teachings of Allah and His Prophet, “non-practicing”, and used to wear improper clothing. One of her “practicing” sisters invited her over to an Islamic lecture which discussed what you have read/watched so far.

By the end of the lecture, she was very touched by what she heard. She declared that from tonight she wants to get closer to Allah in every aspect of this deen. One of the things she wanted to improve right away on was the aspect of wearing more modest clothes, which pleases Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). Her friend who invited her was excited to hear that and offered to gift her a hijab by purchasing one from a nearby store. But the sister refused and stated that she isn’t taking a single step outside this masjid unless she was wearing more modest clothing.

Allahu Akbar, she didn’t want to procrastinate. As she was insisting, the sisters around gave her some of the clothing that is usually kept at the masjid for those who prefer using them when praying or for sisters who don’t usually wear the hijab.

She wore it and felt comfortable walking outside in the public. As she was crossing the street, a car driving by hit her and she died on the spot… May Allah grant her the highest levels in Jannah. Brothers and sisters, the point of this story isn’t really about wearing more modest clothing, rather it is about avoiding procrastination!

If you are looking for a moment to completely change your life and take it to the next level then this is what you and I are looking for.

Don’t just focus on the 27th night of Ramadan, rather work hard through all of the last nights, just like how the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), our teacher, did

 “كان النبيُّ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّم إذا دخل العشرُ شدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وأحيا ليلهُ، وأيقظَ أهلهُ”

-(Sahih Al-Bukhari)

When the last 10 nights entered, the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard, just like how we would roll our sleeves showing that we are getting ready for some serious work) and he used to worship at night, and wake up his family.

May Allah bless you and accept from you, my beloved brother and sister!

Feel free to “Share” this video/article so others can benefit. You never know, you might be the cause, by the will of Allah, of changing a person’s life. May Allah bless you.

Wassalaamu alaykum,

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Majed completed a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Windsor, a Bachelor’s in Islamic Studies in Islamic Jurisprudence and Legal Theory from Al-Madinah International University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Wayne State University. As he travels worldwide lecturing about different aspects of Islam, Majed works full-time as a mechanical engineer and teaches with Al-Maghrib Institute. He currently lives in Michigan with his wife and children.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Sayed

    July 13, 2015 at 3:09 AM

    Was the story of the sister true? May Allah forgive her and grant her paradise. I’m in shock.

  2. muhammad habu gumel

    July 13, 2015 at 10:46 AM

    jaza’akallahu khairan ya akhi.

  3. khaleel bin osman

    July 13, 2015 at 5:00 PM

    Good analysis. An indication for striving to higher goals and ideals.jazakallah aufaral jazaa.

  4. shareen

    July 13, 2015 at 7:31 PM

    Aslaam Alaaykum, I was very touched by this article may allah reward who wrote it.

  5. Ilham

    July 13, 2015 at 7:47 PM

    assalamu alaykum,

    Majed, jazakAllahu khair for taking the time, thought and energy into writing this piece. My sister from Medinah sent me an urgent email begging me to read this so that it may benefit me the way it benefited her. Please do not allow pointless comments (like above) stop you from continuing to benefit. Remember that as a writer some people are prone to look for faults rather than trying to understand the true message. Even in an article discussing afw, laylatul qadr some people still have something to say…smh.

    p.s. the comment about fob’s was so ridiculous and completely unnecessary. Many people, including our own brother and sisters in Islam are ‘fob.’

  6. Muhammad Yusuf Musa

    July 15, 2015 at 12:45 AM

    Jazakallah brother! I really benefitted from this article and it solved my confusion. Before I use to ask; I know there must be a special secret in this special dua given by the prophet (peace be upon Him) but what are those special secrets? I understand them now, May Allah reward you abundantly!

  7. Bilal

    October 1, 2015 at 1:21 PM

    Ma Shaa Allah, nice article
    I really like this article. May Almighty Allah bless on you.

  8. Ayesha Farooq

    June 28, 2016 at 11:05 PM

    Subhan Allaah! The wisdom behind every act of deen is superb!
    “اللَّهمَّ إنَّك عفُوٌّ تُحبُّ العفوَ فاعْفُ عنِّي” beautiful! And may Allaah forgive, conceal and ignore our every bit of sins and bring us closer to Himself. Aameen.
    JazakAllaahu khair!

  9. (Alakil)

    July 1, 2016 at 12:24 AM

    Allah’s greatness is not endless?

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