# The Guilt of Sleeping on Laylatul Qadr | Ramadan Reflections

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Ramadan Reflections (2025)
**Published:** 2025-03-27
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/PHThTSZkwO8
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/the-guilt-of-sleeping-on-laylatul-qadr-ramadan-reflections
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
What if you fall asleep out of exhaustion on the Laylatul Qadr? Can you still gain the blessings of this night? And what steps can you take to avoid falling asleep?

## Transcript
**[0:00]** About 17 years ago in a past life, when I was imam in Masjid Abu Bakr in New Orleans, before I had the privilege of having Shaykh Yasser trying to take my space, he wasn't in New Orleans, I had my own office in New Orleans.

**[0:17]** And it was very private by the way, it was actually the library as well. It was really something special, you should see it one day Shaykh, can visit one day. But in a previous life, 17 years ago, I remember vividly, in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, I gave this lecture about making sure that you catch

**[0:37]** Salatul 'Isha and Salatul Fajr in jama'ah and how special that is, and to push yourselves as much as you can. And then I was feeling a little bit tired after taraweeh, so I said, you know what, let me just go home, let me grab something to eat,

**[0:52]** and let me kind of refresh myself and then I'll come back to the masjid and I'll finish the night with the people. And we actually used to do like a khatira at the tahajjud time as well, and then I will, you know, keep myself till fajr and everything will be good. I went home, I grabbed a bite to eat, sat on the couch, I woke up after Adhanul Fajr.

**[1:13]** And it was one of the worst days of my life, I felt so miserable that entire day. Like how did I miss Salatul Fajr, not only did I miss qiyam, I missed fajr in the masjid on an odd night.

**[1:28]** I felt nasty and I realized that there was a trick from shaitan, it was the 23rd night of Ramadan, that at that point I didn't feel motivated to even work for the rest of the nights. Because you know, you've always got those people, you know who those people are? Those people are the people that say, man, last night definitely had to be it.

**[1:43]** I felt so great, you know, did you see the sun last night? Did you see how wonderful it was? And you're just like, that was the one night, I felt like I tapped out and I didn't do what I needed to do, and like I don't even feel motivated to pursue anymore.

**[1:58]** And subhanAllah, at that moment, like I truly came to appreciate a hadith from the Prophet (ﷺ) that's actually narrated through several routes, and it's a beautiful hadith. And I'll preface it with one that is more well-known. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that if one of you eats and drinks by accident

**[2:18]** during the day of fasting, then what should he do? He should continue fasting. فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَطْعَمَهُ Allah Azza wa Jal fed him and gave him to drink. الله أَطْعَمَهُ وَسَقَى

**[2:34]** It was Allah who gave him something to eat and something to drink. Therefore, it was a blessing from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that you forgot momentarily, but your actual fasting was not harmed. Now by the way, this isn't like the person that trips in the kitchen,

**[2:50]** shawarma falls in his mouth and the water falls in his mouth. I'm not talking about that guy. I'm talking about you forgot for a moment, you ate something, you took a date, you, you know, whatever it may be. You woke up in the morning, you made your coffee, you thought that today was not a day of Ramadan.

**[3:07]** Allah is the one, like the Prophet (ﷺ) not only said, you should not be ashamed nor should you be to blame. Allah is the one who gave you something to eat and drink. It was a gift from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Now continue on with your fasting.

**[3:22]** The hadith that I'm speaking about is a hadith from Ummul Mu'minin Aisha (رضي الله عنها) as well as Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه) and other companions. It's narrated through more than one route. That the Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever intends to pray something from the night

**[3:39]** and then he slept through that time that he was supposed to pray. كُتِبَ لَهُ مَا نَوَى Everything that he intended to pray was written for him. وَكَانَ نَوْمُهُ صَدَقَةً

**[3:55]** And his charity or his sleep was a charity from Allah Azza wa Jalla to him. His sleep was a charity from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to him. How beautiful of a hadith. Whoever intends to pray something from the night

**[4:10]** and then he sleeps through that period حَتَّى أَصْبَح And in one narration, there's so many narrations غَلَبَتْهُ عَيْنَاه Like his eyes got the best of him, he fell asleep. You know, yesterday there was a brother in Fajr. I'm not picking on you but I thought he might have died in his sujood.

**[4:26]** He didn't get up from his sajda. We're all getting beat up in these last two nights. We're pushing ourselves. We're trying to immediately adjust our clocks. We're trying to get used to staying awake all night. But your eyes get the best of you. Your body, you just doze off. And then you wake up.

**[4:42]** And by the time you try to get back into the mode especially if you have intended that the last hour of the night you're going to spend it worshipping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala كُتِبَ لَهُ مَا نَوَى Allah Azza wa Jalla wrote it down for you. As the ulama say in the sharh of this hadith.

**[4:57]** Meaning Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala wrote it down for you. كَأَنَّكَ صَلَّيْتَهُ فِي تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَة As if you prayed it at that time. At the time that you intended. So Allah wrote down the full ajr for you. And the sleep was a charity from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

**[5:14]** that Allah Azza wa Jalla sees that you need some rest. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives you something to do. And if you stand up then and pray even after fajr meaning after dhuha then Allah Azza wa Jalla will credit you even extra. The reason why I share this hadith

**[5:30]** is not just for the immediate practical benefit. That look we're gonna make plans. And we have to make plans. And we should adjust ourselves. That means taking a nap at some point in the day if you can. That means not eating in a way that's gonna induce a food coma.

**[5:47]** Right? At iftaar. That means trying to put your habits in line so that you can stay up during the night and worship Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. That means that if indeed you get to a point as the Prophet (ﷺ) said where you don't even know what you're saying anymore was the case of Zainab (رضي الله عنها) outside of Ramadan

**[6:02]** but the point still stands having a rope tied in the masjid to hold herself if you don't even know what you're saying anymore and you say you know I'm gonna take a 15 minute nap a 30 minute nap so I can refresh myself and I can wake up in the later part of the night and I can have a sincere du'a some sincere moments between me and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

**[6:19]** that is the person who is being addressed here that Allah Azza wa Jalla is far more kind and far more merciful and remember that you are making their du'a Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbu al-'afwa fa'fu 'anni you love to forgive Allah

**[6:34]** and so certainly Allah Azza wa Jalla loves to reward a person for their intention even if they find themselves physically in a difficult situation the other thing is that I remind you and myself that the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

**[6:49]** was never because we deserved it that Allah's forgiveness in these last 10 nights or outside of these last 10 nights was never because we earned it that our entrance into Jannah is never going to be because of our deeds it's always going to be because of Allah's mercy

**[7:06]** and because of our sincere efforts that qualifies us for Allah's mercy despite its shortcomings and Allah's mercy making up the shortcomings so dear brothers and sisters if these last few nights we're now at the midpoint we've passed half the nights of the last ten

**[7:22]** if at some point you felt like I had a really bad night or this last 10 nights is not going the right way for me like I really thought I was going to attack these 10 nights in the right way but these first 5 nights I don't feel too good about them inna allathee tatlubuhu amamak

**[7:38]** that which you seek is still ahead of you it could be that Laylatul Qadr is still there and certainly the mercy of Allah Azza wa Jalla is there so do your best, seek Allah's mercy and if something happens along the way that's out of your control that too is a manifestation of Allah's mercy

**[7:55]** JazakumAllahu Khayran Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

## Other Episodes in "Ramadan Reflections (2025)"
- [Praying the “Night Prayer” During the Day | Ramadan Reflections](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/praying-the-night-prayer-during-the-day-ramadan-reflections.md)
- [Is Laylatul Qadr on the 27th Night? | Ramadan Reflections](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/is-laylatul-qadr-on-the-27th-night-ramadan-reflections.md)
- [Why the Prophet ﷺ Forgot the Exact Date of Laylatul Qadr | Ramadan Reflections](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/why-the-prophet-forgot-the-exact-date-of-laylatul-qadr-ramadan-reflections.md)
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- [A Complete Guide to the Last 10 Nights and Laylatul Qadr | Dr. Omar Suleiman](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/a-complete-guide-to-the-last-10-nights-and-laylatul-qadr-omar-suleiman.md)
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