LAST NIGHT OF RAMADHAN

A number of rites are advisably practiced at this blessed night. They are as follows:

First: It is recommended to bathe oneself at this night.

Second: It is recommended to visit the holy tomb of Imam al-Husayn (a.s.).

Third: It is recommended to recite Surahs al-An’am (No. 6), al-Kahf (No. 18), and Yasin (No. 36). It is also recommended to repeat the following imploration one hundred times:

Fourth: It is recommended to say the following supplicatory prayer that is reported by al-Kulayni from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq(a.s.):

Fifth: It is recommended to say the previously mentioned supplicatory prayer that begins with the following:

Sixth: It is recommended to bid farewell to the month of Ramadan through the supplicatory prayers dedicated to this purpose and mentioned by al-Kulayni, al-Saduq, al-Mufid, al-Tusi, and Sayyid Ibn Tawus - may Allah be pleased with them all. Yet, the best farewell prayer in this respect may be the 45th supplication of al-Sahifah al-Kamilah al-Sajjadiyyah, which begins with the following statement:

Sayyid Ibn Tawus has reported Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq(a.s.) as saying: Whoever bids farewell to the month of Ramadan with the following supplicatory prayer, Almighty Allah will forgive him before it dawn (fajr)s and will confer upon him with the bliss of submission before Him (i.e. Almighty Allah):

Sayyid Ibn Tawus and Shaykh al-Saduq have both narrated the following on the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari:

I visited the Messenger of Allah (a.s.) on the last Friday of Ramadan. As he saw me, he said: O Jabir, this is the last Friday of Ramadan. You should thus bid farewell to it by saying the following:

Verily, whoever says this supplicatory prayer will win one of the two good things; either attaining the next Ramadan or having the forgiveness and mercy of Almighty Allah.

Sayyid Ibn Tawus and al-Kaf’ami have reported the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) as saying, “At the last night of Ramadan, one may offer a prayer consisting of ten units at each of which Surah al-Faatehah is recited once and Surah al-Tawheed repeated ten times. In the genuflection (ruku') of the prayer (ruku’) and prostration (sujud), the following doxology (zikr) may be repeated ten times:

After each couple of units, one may say the Tashahhud and Taslim statements. After the accomplishment of the ten units, one may say the Taslim statement and repeat ISTEGFAAR one thousand times

After that, one may prostrate and say the following:

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) then continues, “I swear by Him Who has sent me with the truth as prophet, Archangel Gabriel has reported to me from Archangel Seraph who directly reports from Almighty Allah that one who offers that prayer will not raise his head from prostration before Almighty Allah forgives him, accepts his acts during the month of Ramadan, and overlooks his sins... etc.”

It is worth mentioning that other narrations have confirmed that this prayer is offered at the Night of ‘Id al-Fitr (i.e. the first night of Shawwal) with a little difference in the form of the supplicatory prayer.