O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. O Lord of Laylatul Qadr (night of power), who has made it better than a thousand months. O Lord of the night and the day, of the mountains and the seas, of darkness and light, and the earth and the sky. O the Originator, the Designer, The Affectionate, the Gracious. O Allah, the Beneficent, O Allah, the Everlasting, O Allah, O (the) Maker, O Allah, O Allah, O Allah, You have the most beautiful names, the highest examples, the grandeur, the bounties. I beseech You to, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and place my name, in this night, among the fortunate, and my soul among the martyrs, let my good deeds be (written) in the ‘Illiyyin (Book of the virtuous),and my evil deeds be forgiven. (And I beseech You to ) grant me a certainty which gives joy to my heart, and a faith which drives doubt away from me, and make me pleased with what You have granted me. (And I beseech You to) Give us good in this world, and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the burning fire. (HQ 2:201) (And I beseech You to) grant me in it (Laylatul Qadr) Your rememberance, and Your gratitude, and desire for (pleasing) You, turning (to You for repentance), and success, for all that You have granted Muhammad and his family, peace be on him and on them.

The last third of Ramadan is the time for the release from Hell-fire, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the Hadith reported by Salman Al-Farisi: “O people, a great and a blessed month is approaching you. In this month there is a night that is better than one thousand months. Allah has made fasting during its daytime obligatory and prayers at night commendable during this month. Whosoever will do a voluntary good deed during this month, it is as if he performed an obligatory good deed at another time and whosoever will perform an obligatory good deed, it is as if he performed seventy obligatory good deeds at another time. This is the month of patience and the reward of patience is Paradise. This is the month of kindness and charity. In this month the believer’s provision is enlarged. Anyone who will give food to a fasting person in this month, it will bring forgiveness for his sins, will save him from the hellfire and he shall have his reward without the person who is fed losing any of his reward….The first third of the month of Ramadan is the time for Rahmah (Mercy), the second third is for forgiveness, the third is for the release from Hellfire…”

The duties of the Muslim in this last third of Ramadan are to try his best to perfect his fasting, to avoid any shortcomings or sins that can harm his fasting, to offer more prayers, preferably in congregation, to advance in reading the Qur’an, making dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and helping others to be more committed to religion, to enter i`tikaf (seclusion) if it is possible for him/her, and to remember that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to give extra attention to the last ten days of Ramadan. He could hardly sleep, and his family used also to stay in vigilance with him. The Prophet’s generosity in this month and particularly in the last ten days was compared to a fast wind.

We should not miss to remind you and all Muslims to try to settle disputes. It is the best occasion to forgive one another and forget about all enmities and grudges. We should come out of Ramadan in a better shape, understanding, and moral behavior. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it clear that “If any Muslim comes out of Ramadan without gaining forgiveness and goodness, he/she is a real loser.”