We are now in the final 10 days of Ramadan, the holiest of months for Muslims. While all of Ramadan is significant, as fasting during this month is considered the fourth pillar of Islam, the last 10 days are even more so.
For it was on one of the odd nights of these last 10 days—Laylat-ul-Qadr or the Night of Power or Decree—that the Holy Qur’an came down from the heavenly realms. As the Qur’an reads, “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months” (97:3). For us mere mortals, this means that any act of worship done on this night is equivalent to 1,000 months or 83 years of worship.
Since the Qur’an doesn’t say when exactly Laylat-ul-Qadr is (perhaps to keep us on our toes!), Muslims are advised to treat every odd night of the last 10 days as if it were.
As such, it is as if all our efforts to draw closer to God go into overdrive during this time. One of the many oft-repeated acts of worship is giving for the sake of God. Ramadan is a popular time for Muslims to pay their annual zakat (purifying alms), the third pillar of Islam.