Forgive my trespasses and replace them with good deeds.

Usually when people look back at the old days, they feel joy because the past was such a beautiful time for them. Their days would be full of fun and laughter, and carelessness wouldn’t be much of an issue. ‘Those were the days’ for them, as they always say.

And with Laylat al-Qadr, the night better than a thousand months, falling on one of these last ten nights, we can’t afford to do anything other than follow in his footsteps, salla Allahu alayhi wasallam. One of the best acts of worship we can engage in at this time is the night prayer. The night prayer is a beautiful act of worship which encompasses the other kinds of worship – reciting Qur’an, remembering Allah and praising Him in dhikr, making du’aa – all as you stand and bow and prostrate before His Majesty.

I remember when I was ten. It was the morning of Eid al-Fitr and I was sitting on the edge of my bed, tears streaming down my cheeks, just as raindrops kissed the ground outside my home. My heart was seething with anger, anger aimed at a piece of cloth that now lay rejected on my feet, and anger at the person who was forcing me to wear it. I remember looking wistfully at the mirror, tugging my hair and thinking how donning that piece of cloth would ruin the pretty outfit that embraced my body.

Strengthen your relationship with Allah in times of ease to find Him with you in times of hardship.