Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is
described in the Quran as, "better than a
thousand months" (97:3). Any action done
on this night such as reciting the Quran,
remembering Allah, etc. is better than acting
for one thousand months which do not
contain the night of Qadr.
Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in
devotion during the last ten nights to a
greater extent than at any other
time." (Muslim). Allah's peace and blessings
be upon our beloved Prophet.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related
that the Prophet said: Look for Laylatul Qadr
on an odd-numbered night during the last
ten nights of Ramadan (Bukhari).
The Prophet said: "Whoever prays during
the night of Qadr with faith and hoping for
its reward will have all of his previous sins
forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim recorded
from Abu Huraira).
Here are some tips of things we can do on
the Night of Power and the time before and
after it.
1. Take a vacation for Allah.
We take a break from our jobs for almost
everything in life. Why not this time to focus
on worshiping and thanking our Creator.
If this is not possible at least take a few days
off if you can. This can make it easier to stay
awake at night to do extra Ibadah, not
having to worry about getting to work the
next day. It will also facilitate doing Itikaf.
2. Do I'tikaf.
It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the
last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the
masjid for I'tikaf.
Those in I'tikaf stay in the masjid all this
time, performing various forms of zikr (the
remembrance of Allah), like doing extra
Salat, recitation and study of the Quran. They
do not go outside the masjid except in case
of emergencies, therefore, they sleep in the
masjid. Their families or the masjid
administration takes care of their food
needs. I'tikaf of a shorter period of time, like
one night, a day or a couple of days is
encouraged as well.
3. Make this special Dua.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I
asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger
of Allah, if I know what night is the night of
Qadr, what should I say during it?' He said:
'Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You
love to pardon, so pardon me.' "(Ahmad, Ibn
Majah, and Tirmidhi).
The transliteration of this Dua is "Allahumma
innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu
'annee"

4. Recite the Quran.
Perhaps you can choose Surahs or passages
from the Quran, which you have heard in
Tarawih this past Ramadan to recite.
If you attend a class where the recitation of
the Quran is taught, this is a great time to
put your knowledge into practice.
5. Reflect on the meaning of the Quran.
Choose the latest Surah or Surahs you've
heard in Tarawih and read their translation
and Tafseer. Then think deeply about their
meaning and how it affects you on a
personal level.
6. Get your sins wiped out.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger
said: Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylatul
Qadr while nourishing his faith with self-
evaluation, expecting reward from Allah, will
have all of his previous sins forgiven.
[Bukhari and Muslim).
Don't just pray using the shorter Surahs that
you know. Try to make your prayers longer,
deeper and meaningful. If you are familiar
with longer Surahs, read the translation and
explanation and then pray reciting these
Surahs, carefully reflecting on the meaning
while you pray.
Even if you are only familiar with the shorter
Surahs, read the translation and explanation
beforehand, and then pray reflecting on the
message of the Surahs.
This is a good way to develop the habit of
concentration, even in regular prayers,
where many of us tend to be fidgety and/or
easily distracted.
7. Make a personal Dua list.
Ask yourself what you really want from Allah.
Make a list of each and everything, no matter
how small or how big it is, whether it deals
with this world or not. Allah loves to hear
from us. Once this list is ready, you can do
three things:
Ask Allah to give you those things
Think about what actions you have taken to
get those things
Develop a work plan to get those things in
future.
8. Evaluate yourself.
Ask yourself those questions that need to
be asked. Do an evaluation of where you
are and where you are going. Let this
evaluation lead you to feel happiness for
the good you have done and remorse for
the bad you have done. This latter feeling
should make it easier to seek Allah's
sincere forgiveness when making the Dua
mentioned in tip number one above.
9. Make long, sincere and deep Duas
One of the best times to do this is during
the last part of the night.
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him,
related that the Prophet said: When the last
one-third of the night remains, our Lord, the
Glorious One descends towards the heaven
of the earth and proclaims: Who is that who
supplicates for Me, and I grant his
supplication? Who is that who begs Me for
anything and I grant it to him? And who is
that who seeks My forgiveness, and I forgive
him? (Bukhari, Muslim).
That means for instance, waking up one
hour before Suhoor time to ask Allah for
anything and everything you want that is
Halal. This can be done using the Duas of the
Sunnah, but also Dua in your own language,
with sincerity and conviction.
10. Memorize a different Dua every night
They don't have to be long. They can be just
one line. And be sure to know what they
mean generally at least, even if you don't
know the exact translation in English.
You can put them on index cards (or and
keep them with you during the day,
glancing at them during work, while driving,
waiting in line, etc.) Then practice them at
night in prayer.

11. Have Iftar with the family
If you've spent Iftar time on weekdays in
your cubicle at work alone with a couple of
dates, now is the last few days you'll have
this Ramadan to spend with your family. Use
it wisely.
12. Take the family to Tarawih
Have your spouse and kids missed Tarawih
most of Ramadan because you weren't
there to drive them to the Masjid, which is
too far away to walk to? If so, do all of
yourselves a favour and bring everyone for
Tarawih in these last ten nights.
13. Attend the Dua after the completion of
Quran recitation
Almost all Masjids where the Imam aims to
finish an entire reading of the Quran in
Tarawih prayers in Ramadan will be
completing their recitation in these last ten
nights. They may try to end on one of the
odd nights and read the Dua at the end of a
reading of the Quran. Attend this particular
night's Tarawih prayer with your family. See
if you can attend different Masjids' Tarawih
prayers the night they finish reading the
Quran.
14. Finish reading a book on the Prophet
Read about the Prophet's life, which can
increase your love for him and Islam by
seeing how much he struggled for Allah's
sake. It may inspire you to push yourself
even harder during these last ten nights.
This community is built on sacrifice.
15. Plan for the next year
Once you've done a self-evaluation, you can
plan on where you want to go, at least in
the next 12 months. Laylatul Qadr is a great
night to be thinking about this (without
taking away from your worship), since you'll
Insha Allah, be in a more contemplative
state. You may choose to dedicate one night
of power for evaluation and one night for
planning for the next year.
16. To do list for the Night of Power
Make a to do checklist for each Night of
Power. This should define how you would
like your night, the one better than a
thousand months, to be used. Pick things
from this list and define the sequence you
would like to do things in. This will help you
avoid wasting your time in unproductive
chats which common in the festive
atmosphere of Masjids at the Night of
Power.
Source: islamicity.com