Precious Advices
Shaykh-ul-Hadīth Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh
Presentation Night (Laylatul-Jā’izah)
The whole of Ramadān was a spiritual tournament and the night of ‘Īd (i.e. the night before ‘Īd day) is when the winning team is awarded their prize.
If you are given the ability to worship Allāh ta‘ālā during this auspicious night then it is an indication that you are in the winning team.
In order to be eligible for a prize the least we should do is to refrain from every sin and engage in a little bit of extra ‘ibādah for a while during this night.
Familiarity with Fasting
We need to become accustomed to fasting on a regular basis. There was a time when people would fast and perform Tahajjud so regularly that one would be able to see the effects of fasting and worship on their faces. However, these qualities are rarely visible these days as people do not give importance to these things any more.
This is why it is important for us to make ourselves accustomed to fasting outside of Ramadān too. We can start by observing the masnūn fasts that fall on special occasions throughout the year, e.g. the six fasts of Shawwāl, the fasts of the 9th and 10th/10th and 11th of Muharram and the fasts of the first 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah. Once a person becomes habituated with these fasts, he should then observe another mustahab act of Nabī sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam by fasting on the ayyāmul-bīd, i.e. the 13th, 14th and 15th of every Islamic month. Thereafter he should also fast on every Monday and Thursday which is also mustahab. Then one may progress to the sawm of Sayyidunā Dāwūd ‘alayhis salām which is the best method of fasting outside of Ramaḍān.
Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said:
The most beloved fast to Allāh is the fast of Dāwūd ‘alayhis salām… he would fast one day and not fast one day. (Al-Bukhārī, Muslim)