# Day 21: Ten Days Ahead, Another Chance? | Ramadan Strong

**Author:** Abrar Omeish
**Series:** Ramadan Strong
**Published:** 2019-05-26
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/kIYZ5vWU2Y8
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-21-ten-days-ahead-another-chance
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
How Allah’s mercy affords us ample opportunity to try again, and how Al-Fatiha is that opening prayer to which the Qur’an, this month’s purpose, is His answer.

## Transcript
**[0:01]** SubhanAllah, it's difficult to believe we're in the final 10 days of this blessed month.

**[0:25]** We have an opportunity inshallah to reap many blessings and to ensure that we're not amongst those who the Prophet ﷺ warned us not to be, who go through Ramadan and are not forgiven and are ultimately losers for it. SubhanAllah, and Allah's infinite mercy, we know it through the hadith that he tells us that it was written on his throne from the beginning of creation, that his mercy outweighs his wrath.

**[0:49]** We know Allah is closer to us than our own jugular vein, that if we come to him walking, he'll come to us running. That Allah's mercy outweighs everything, and that his mercy is more than the mercy of a mother and her child. And so, through this relationship with Allah, our loving Lord, how do we look ahead at the last 10 days to maximize and to see them as our second chance?

**[1:14]** Of course, the Prophet ﷺ tells us that all of Bani Adam, all of Adam's children, are ones who make mistakes. And the best of those who make mistakes are those who turn back to Allah ﷻ. This month, of course, inshallah, we were praying and fasting, may Allah ﷻ accept from all of us.

**[1:32]** And now it's our chance to look at these 10 days with further intensity. Maybe we regret not being able to read as much of the Qur'an as we got to up to this point. Maybe we regret not doing tarawih every night, whatever it might be. Maybe we didn't do tahajjud enough.

**[1:47]** Allah ﷻ gives us this additional bonus from his mercy as a second chance for us, with each waking day as a second chance, with each night an opportunity to come closer to Allah ﷻ when the angels descend, and he gives us that blessed opportunity, and how our ajr is multiplied in these final days.

**[2:04]** And of course, with the potential of Laylat al-Qadr being on one of these last days, it's truly an opportunity and a second chance that Allah ﷻ grants us. And the way I want to leave you all with today is a thought, that with every beginning of a prayer,

**[2:19]** whether it's the many rak'ahs of tarawih, inshallah, that we're all doing, whether it's the five mandatory prayers or the fajr prayer, that we have an opportunity to have a conversation with Allah ﷻ. What I want to tell you about today is something we may not realize.

**[2:37]** How many times do we read Surat al-Fatiha in a day? And how many times do we realize that's in fact a conversation that's occurring between creator and creation, between the Lord of the heavens and the universe and you,

**[2:52]** and that with each recitation of Surat al-Fatiha as a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, Allah ﷻ offers us to become closer to Him. So when we say, الحمد لله رب العالمين

**[3:07]** Allah ﷻ says, حمدني عبدي My servant has praised me. الرحمن الرحيم And Allah ﷻ says, أثنى علي عبدي Again, my servant has glorified me. الحمد لله رب العالمين

**[3:23]** الرحمن الرحيم مالك يوم الدين Allah ﷻ says, مجدني عبدي My servant has glorified me, exalted me. And that's just by saying that Surat al-Fatiha, the most basic thing Allah ﷻ is having that conversation,

**[3:38]** is recognizing that expression of gratitude, of humility that we have before Him. And then again, يَا كَنَ عَبُدُهُ وَيَا كَنَا اسْتَعِينُ When we say, Oh Allah, we worship you and you are the one we seek for help.

**[3:56]** Allah ﷻ says, هَذَا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي This is between me and my creation. وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلُ This is personal. This is personal between me and my creation. And for my creation is what he or she asks.

**[4:12]** Allah ﷻ is spending that moment with each one of us, His creation, with each reading of Surat al-Fatiha, to recognize our praise. Then to say that anything that we are to ask is for us.

**[4:27]** When we say we seek Him for His help, and we ask Him for help. يَا كَنَ عَبُدُهُ وَيَا كَنَا اسْتَعِينُ اِهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ Allah ﷻ says,

**[4:43]** هَذَا لِعَبْدِي وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلُ This is for My servant and for My servant is what He has asked. And what's beautiful about the Subhanallah is al-Fatiha is the beginning of the Qur'an. It's that beginning of what? The answer to our prayers.

**[4:59]** And Ramadan is ultimately the month of the Qur'an. The month when we develop that close relationship with what? That response to our prayer in Surah al-Fatiha. So with every reading of that surah is our second chance that is the Qur'an.

**[5:16]** That we can embrace the Qur'an again. That we can develop that relationship with it. And that we can better understand and connect with our Lord through His words. Because that Qur'an is the response to our prayer. Which is what follows from that Fatiha. That initial prayer that we made today.

**[5:31]** So inshallah we can take that as a beginning, a second chance for us in the last 10 days. For us to turn up a notch and embrace Allah ﷻ fully and wholeheartedly with our minds and with our hearts

**[5:46]** in our full submission to benefit from that beauty and inshallah to be amongst those who obtain His forgiveness and obtain His salvation and are not ultimately losers because Allah ﷻ loves us and has given us so many chances. I ask Allah ﷻ to make us of those who do benefit from the second chance,

**[6:04]** who do reap the benefits of Ramadan, and who become ever more close to Allah ﷻ and allowing Him to enter our hearts and expand our chests. So that we may reap the barakah of this month. May Allah ﷻ bless all of you and your families and may this be a blessed month for all of us.

**[6:20]** As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi ta'ālā wa-barakātuh.

## Other Episodes in "Ramadan Strong"
- [Day 30: Farewell, Ramadan | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-30-farewell-ramadan-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 29: Beware of Ramadanitis | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-29-beware-of-ramadanitis-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 28: Practicing Istiqama for the Long Haul | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-28-practicing-istiqama-for-the-long-haul-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 27: Meeting the Best Version of Ourselves | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-27-meeting-the-best-version-of-ourselves-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 26: A Date with Destiny | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-26-a-date-with-destiny-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 25: The Value of Seclusion - Ihtikaf | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-25-the-value-of-seclusion-ihtikaf-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 24: When the Night Draws its Curtain —The Importance of Tahajjud | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-24-the-importance-of-tahajjud-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 23: Maximizing the Last Ten Days | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-23-maximizing-the-last-day-days-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 22: Charity in the Last 10 Nights | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-22-charity-in-the-last-10-nights-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 20: The Extra Good Deed | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-20-the-extra-good-deed-ramadan-strong-2.md)
- [Day 19: The Man Who Thought He Thanked God Enough | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-19-the-man-who-thought-he-thanked-god-enough-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 18: When Ramadan Breaks | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-18-when-ramadan-breaks-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 17: Ramadans of Yore | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-17-ramadans-of-yore-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 16: Detox by Day and Indulge By Night | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-16-detox-by-day-and-indulge-by-night.md)
- [Day 15 | Overcoming the Mid-Ramadan Slump | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-15-mid-ramadan-slump-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 14 | Praise be to Allah | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-14-praise-be-to-allah-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 13 | The Need for Consistency and Balance | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-13-consistency-and-balance-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 11: "...but I've already fallen behind in my Ramadan goals" | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-11-behind-in-my-ramadan-goals-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 10: Your Qur'an Goals | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-10-your-quran-goals-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 9: Desire, Dedication, Discipline | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-9-desire-dedication-discipline-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 8: Talking to Allah | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-8-talking-to-allah-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 7: The Importance of Documenting Progress | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-7-the-importance-of-documenting-progress-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 6: Being Excused from Fasting is a Gift From God | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-6-being-excused-from-fasting-is-a-gift-from-god-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 5: Be Present | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-5-be-present-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 4: So That You Attain God-Consciousness | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-4-so-that-you-attain-god-consciousness-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 3: Mindful Fasting to Feed Your Soul | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-3-mindful-fasting-to-feed-your-soul-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Day 1: Not Just Another Ramadan | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-1-not-just-another-ramadan-ramadan-strong.md)
- [Ramadan Strong: Series Introduction](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/ramadan-strong-series-introduction.md)