أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ اللَّهَ، تَعَالَى تَابَعَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَبْلَ وَفَاتِهِ حَتَّى تَوَفَّاهُ أَكْثَرَ مَا كَانَ الْوَحْىُ، ثُمَّ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْدُ

Narrated Anas bin Malik RA: Allah sent down His Divine Inspiration to His Apostle continuously and abundantly during the period preceding his death till He took him unto Him. That was the period of the greatest part of revelation; and Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) died after that. [Bukhari]

The scholars have given numerous reasons for this:

The abundance of revelation close to the demise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, was due to the many delegations that came to Madinah Munawwarah after the conquest of Makkah. These delegations posed many questions pertaining to the rules and regulations of Islam, necessitating revelation.

Further, there was a need to reveal the remaining aspects of the Shariʿah so that Islam was perfected before the demise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

It is also possible that, due to the Messenger of Allah’s closeness to Allah during the end stages of his worldly life, Allah communicated with him more frequently.

The lesson for us is that like how the bond and love of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for Allah Almighty increased and reached its highest as he got closer to his death, we should also increase in our love for Allah as our age advances and one of the best ways of achieving that is by performing Good Deeds.

EASY GOOD DEED – Nafl I`tikaaf

The basic purpose of I’tikaaf is that the heart gets attached to Allah and, with it, one attains inner composure and equanimity and pre‑occupation with the mundane things of life ceases and absorption in the eternal Reality takes its place, and the state is reached in which all fears, hopes and apprehensions are superseded by the love and remembrance of Allah, every anxiety is transformed into the anxiety for Him and every thought and feeling is blended with the eagerness to gain His nearness and to earn His good favour, and devotion to the Almighty is generated instead of devotion to the world and it becomes the provision for the grave where there will be neither a friend nor a helper. This is the high aim and purpose of I’tikaaf which is the speciality of the most sublime part of Ramadhan, i.e., the last ten days.

However, through the Mercy and Kindness of Allah we have the opportunity of making I`tikaaf throughout the year, each time we enter the Masjid.

This form of I’tikaaf is not subject to time, fasting, day, night ‑ on the contrary, a person will receive the reward of I’tikaaf if he enters the masjid with the intention of I’tikaaf at any time and for whatever period.

In the last ten days of Ramadhan, if a person performs I’tikaaf with the requisite intention for less than ten days, then such I’tikaaf will be Nafl I’tikaaf.

If a person goes to the masjid for the purpose of Salaah and at the time of entering (the masjid) formulates an intention to the effect that he will remain in I’tikaaf for whatever time he spends in the masjid, then such person will receive the reward of I’tikaaf.

Nafl I’tikaaf remains in force for the period that the person is in the masjid. Upon leaving or emerging from the masjid, this I’tikaaf ends.