The Last Ten Nights Are Here
Before diving into the final ayah of Surah Al-Muzzammil, a timely reminder — tonight is the 23rd night of Ramadan. The last ten nights are upon us, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to hunt for Laylatul Qadr in these nights, especially the odd ones. Tonight is one of them.
So what should fill these nights? Extra raka’at. Extra Quran. Extra dhikr. And the best du’a for this occasion comes to us through Sayyidatuna Aisha (رضي الله عنها), who asked the Prophet ﷺ: if I encounter the Night of Al-Qadr, what should I say? He replied: “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni” —
“O Allah, You are the Most Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”
Now, there’s an important distinction here between ‘afw and ghafar. When we say astaghfirullah and ask for Allah’s forgiveness (ghafar), the record of the sin remains — but the punishment is cancelled. The deed is still in the books on the Day of Mahshar, but Allah will not punish us for it.
Al-’Afw is something else entirely. It is when the record is expunged altogether. Wiped clean. As if the sin never happened. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever fasts sincerely and prays during the nights of Ramadan — and catches Laylatul Qadr — will have all their past sins forgiven. They exit Ramadan like the day they were born. No record of sins whatsoever.
It’s just a few nights. Sleep a little less. Yes, there will be tiredness — that’s okay. This is our training. Don’t miss a night that is greater than a thousand months, greater than 83 years of worship.
Where We Left Off — The Arc of Surah Al-Muzzammil
The surah opened with a command: stand up at night, pray, and recite the Quran. Why? Because the day is full of heavy tasks — spreading truth, standing for justice, enduring hardship — and the strength to carry all of that comes from the spiritual work done at night. Reading about Jannah motivates. Reading about Jahannam sobers. The connection to Allah realigns everything.
Then came the warning through the story of Fir’aun — richer, stronger, more powerful than the Quraysh, yet destroyed in an instant when he rejected Prophet Musa. Then the terrifying imagery of Yawmul Qiyamah: skies torn apart, children’s hair turning white from sheer terror. And finally, the choice: believe and take the prophetic path, or reject and face the consequences. Every choice carries a consequence.
Now the surah circles back to where it began — Qiyamul Layl — but this time with something remarkable: mercy.
Allah Knows Our Weakness
The original command was demanding. Stand up most of the night — two-thirds, or at least half, or at the very minimum a third. The Prophet ﷺ did this every single night, without exception, even while travelling, even during battle. But Allah knew that the rest of the ummah would struggle.
Allah says: “Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand less than two-thirds of the night, sometimes half, sometimes even less than a third — and so do a group of those with you.”
Allah is the One who measured the length of night and day. Some seasons, the nights are long and Qiyamul Layl is easier — in Perth during winter, Maghrib comes in at 5:15 and Fajr isn’t until around six. Plenty of time to sleep and still wake up. But in the peak of summer, when Fajr is at 3:30? That’s a different story. Allah knows all of this.
And so He says: “He has forgiven you.” Qiyamul Layl is fard upon the Prophet ﷺ, but for the rest of us, Allah has already shown mercy and lifted that strict obligation.
But Don’t Abandon It Altogether
Here’s the key — just because the full obligation has been eased doesn’t mean doing nothing is an option. Allah says: “So read what is easy for you from the Quran.” Stand up for even two raka’at. Read whatever surahs have been memorised. Carve out even a small portion of the night for spiritual work.
This is a fundamental principle in Islam: what cannot be accomplished entirely should not be abandoned in totality. Islam doesn’t teach perfectionism — it’s not 100% or nothing. It teaches consistent effort. The Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are small. Two raka’at every single night outweighs a marathon session once a month.
And this, by the way, is one of the great purposes behind memorising the Quran — so that those surahs can be recited in prayer. Al-Kahf, Al-Mulk, Al-Baqarah — they come alive when recited standing before Allah at night.
The Three Excuses Allah Accepts
Then Allah provides specific concessions. First: those who are sick. Illness isn’t a choice — when rest is needed for recovery, Allah says it’s okay.
But then come two more categories that are remarkable, because they are things people can choose — and Allah still grants them as valid reasons for doing less Qiyamul Layl.
The first: those who travel the earth seeking Allah’s bounty — meaning those who are out working, doing business, building economic stability. The second: those who fight in the path of Allah, defending the religion and the community.
These two are placed in equal standing. Working hard to earn a living is given the same weight as defending the faith. That is extraordinary. It tells us something profound about how Islam views economic productivity — not as a worldly distraction, but as an act valued by Allah Himself.
The Prophet ﷺ said the best rizq is what a person earns from their own effort, and he pointed to Prophet Dawud (عليه السلام) as the example — a prophet, a king, and yet also a blacksmith who worked with iron and ate from the labour of his own hands.
Ibn Umar expressed this beautifully. He said the best deaths he could wish for were two: martyrdom in the path of Allah, and dying on a business journey — on his camel, with his trade goods, on his way to earn a living. Because this ayah puts them side by side.
Islam Wants Muslims to Be Wealthy — But With Purpose
The encouragement to work hard and build wealth doesn’t come without direction. Islam doesn’t say: get rich so you can buy the fanciest car, then a fancy island, and once you run out of things to buy on earth, spend a trillion dollars trying to conquer Mars.
Islam says: be rich, but that’s not the end goal. The ummah becomes strong when Muslims have economic power and an akhirah mindset. With wealth, the community can build schools, support students in critical fields, fund long-term projects. This is Sadaqatul Jariyah — continuously flowing charity that keeps giving long after the initial contribution.
There’s a telling hadith in Imam Al-Nawawi’s Forty Collection that captures this tension perfectly. The poor companions once came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained: “Ya Rasulullah, the rich have taken all the extra reward! They pray like we pray, they fast like we fast — but they can give charity from their surplus wealth, and we can’t.” The Prophet ﷺ reassured them that dhikr — saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar — is also charity. The poor companions went away happy. But a few days later? The rich started doing dhikr too. Now they had both. The poor came back and said: what about us now?
The point isn’t to vilify poverty. The Prophet ﷺ went on to explain that there is charity in every good act — helping someone onto their ride, carrying someone’s load. But wealth opens doors that nothing else can. Zakat, the pillar of Islam, is only payable by those who have wealth. And the framing matters: it’s not that the wealthy have to pay zakat — they get to pay zakat. Without wealth, that entire pillar of Islam is inaccessible. And hajj is the same.
The story of Sayyidina Uthman (رضي الله عنه) at the Battle of Tabuk drives this home. He donated so generously — horses, camels, wealth — that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Nothing Uthman does after this will harm him.” Guaranteed paradise. And Uthman wasn’t living in poverty. He had luxuries. But look at the scale of what his wealth allowed him to do for the ummah.
At the same time, Islam doesn’t expect anyone to give 100% away. The best charity, the Prophet ﷺ said, is what is spent on family — on spouses, on children. The balance is always there: spend on yourself, on your family, and on the ummah for the sake of the akhirah.
The Beautiful Loan
Even with all these concessions, Allah says: still, read what is easy from the Quran. Establish your salah. Pay your zakat. Don’t let the extras overshadow the foundations — a hundred raka’at of Qiyamul Layl mean nothing if Fajr is missed. Generous charity donations mean nothing if zakat is neglected. The obligatory always comes first.
Then comes a stunning phrase: “And give Allah a beautiful loan (qard hasan).”
A qard hasan is a loan with no deadline for repayment and no interest. Every good deed — every act of worship, every charity, every kindness — is a loan to Allah. And here’s the beauty of it: Allah doesn’t need our loan. He owns everything in the heavens and the earth and everything in between and beyond. He could simply say: “That’s Mine, I gave it to you, give it back.”
But in His mercy, Allah understands human nature. He understands that people are wired to think in terms of profit and return on investment. So He frames it as a transaction: give Me a loan, and I will surely repay you — multiplied many times over. In human transactions, demanding extra on a qard is riba. But with Allah, He is the One promising to multiply the return. It’s the ultimate ROI.
And what can a person invest with? Two things: wealth or skills. Both require Muslims to be hardworking.
It’s All For Us
Allah then makes something clear: whatever is sent forth for the akhirah, it’s essentially for our own benefit. Allah doesn’t need our investment. Every command He gives is for our sake, not His.
And there’s a profound observation embedded here. As humanity lives more and more comfortably — materially, physically — mental health continues to decline. The richer the country, the higher the rates of depression and anxiety. Why? Because life without purpose erodes the soul. When everything is easy and comfortable, humans lose their sense of direction.
Islam solves this by providing a purpose so enormous that no amount of wealth or comfort can make it irrelevant: getting to Jannah. How do we get there? That question structures every day, every decision, every effort. It keeps life purposeful no matter the circumstances. And when the community works together with that shared purpose, everyone rises.
Ending with Istighfar
The surah closes with a command to seek Allah’s forgiveness. Wastaghfirullah — make istighfar. There are two dimensions to this.
First, the timing. The pre-dawn hours — suhoor time — are the best time for istighfar. Allah praises those who seek forgiveness in the early morning. For those already awake for Qiyamul Layl, this flows naturally.
Second, there’s a subtler reason. Sometimes, in the middle of worship and good deeds, something dangerous creeps into the heart. A feeling of: “I woke up for Qiyamul Layl. I read Surah Al-Kahf in one raka’ah and Surah Al-Mulk in the next. I’m amazing.” Or after giving a large charity: “I’m so generous. Look at what I gave.”
This is kibr — arrogance — and it’s one of Shaitan’s favourite tricks. When he can’t stop someone from doing good deeds, he tries to spoil the deed through the intention. So the surah ends with the antidote: astaghfirullah. Centre yourself. Realign the intention. “Ya Allah, if there was any misalignment in my heart, I seek Your forgiveness.”
Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.
The Complete Message of Surah Al-Muzzammil
And with that, Surah Al-Muzzammil comes to a close. Its message is beautifully complete: stay up at night, even a little. Pray. Read Quran. Let that spiritual recharge fuel everything in the day — the work, the earning, the serving of the ummah. Islam is a religion of balance: worship at night, work hard in the day. And in between, give everything its right. The body has a right — rest, nutrition, exercise. Family has a right — time and attention. And Allah has a right — acts of worship.
Fulfil all those rights. That’s the straight path.
Your Action Steps This Week
Make the du’a of Laylatul Qadr every night. Memorise “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni”and repeat it abundantly in the remaining nights of Ramadan. Understand the difference — this isn’t just asking for forgiveness, it’s asking for a complete clean slate.
Do something every night, even if it’s small. If two raka’at is all that’s manageable, pray two raka’at. If one page of Quran is what’s realistic, read one page. Don’t let the inability to do everything become an excuse to do nothing.
Reframe how work fits into worship. This ayah places earning a livelihood alongside fighting in the path of Allah. Approach work this week with the conscious intention that economic productivity is an act Allah values — and use what is earned to benefit family and community.
Audit the foundations before the extras. Before adding more nawafil, make sure the obligatory salah and zakat are fully in order. The extras don’t compensate for gaps in the foundations.
End every night with istighfar. After Qiyamul Layl, after du’a, after any act of worship — close with astaghfirullah. Let it be the safeguard against arrogance creeping into the heart through the very deeds meant to bring closeness to Allah.
May Allah grant us the strength to apply the lessons from Surah Al-Muzzammil — to pray at night, recite the Quran, and work hard in the day for the benefit of the ummah. May Allah allow us to enter Jannah with the Prophet ﷺ and with the Sahaba.
Next week, inshaAllah, we begin Suratul Muddaththir. Don’t forget — tonight is the 23rd night. Qiyamul Layl. Stay up extra. Make lots of du’a.
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
