In Islam, the night comes before the day, so the nights of Eid are considered the nights after the Day of Arafah. In other words, they are the nights before the Eid day. These blessed nights should be regarded as a great opportunity, and efforts should be made to benefit from them.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever spends the night of Ramadan Eid and Sacrifice Eid in worship, hoping for Allah's reward, their heart will not die when the hearts die." (Ibn Majah, Sawm, 68)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) has emphasized the importance of the Eid nights (Ibn Majah, Sawm, 68), but there is no special prayer or form of worship prescribed for these nights in the Quran and Hadiths. However, spiritual scholars have provided some advice to make the most of these blessed nights. Believers should consider these nights as an opportunity for forgiveness and self-correction. Therefore, they should reflect on their lives, repent for their mistakes and sins, pray, read and try to understand the Quran, and perform missed or voluntary prayers to make the best use of these nights.
Spiritual scholars recommend performing missed (qada) and voluntary prayers during the Eid nights.
The mother of the believers, Umm Habibah (RA), reported:
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'Whoever performs twelve rak'ahs of voluntary prayer daily for the sake of Allah, Allah will build a palace for him in Paradise.'" (Muslim, Musafirun 103)
It is recommended to read the Quran abundantly during the blessed days and nights.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever reads a letter from the Quran will receive a reward, and each good deed will be rewarded tenfold. I do not say that alif, lam, meem is a letter; rather, alif is a letter, lam is a letter, and meem is a letter." (Tirmidhi, Fadail al-Quran 16)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) always encouraged making dua, and it is mentioned that angels say "Ameen" to our prayers.
He said:
"Do not pray for anything except good for yourselves, because the angels say 'Ameen' to your prayers." (Muslim, Janazah 7)
In the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), charity, gifts, and acts of kindness were highly emphasized for Eid preparation. True Eid is when Allah is pleased with us. It is recommended to help orphans, the needy, and the poor during these days, as it leads to receiving divine mercy.
Allah says:
"Show mercy to those on earth, and the One in the heavens will show mercy to you." (Abu Dawood, Adab 58)
On Eid nights, we should ask for forgiveness for our sins. Repentance means turning back to Allah and asking for His forgiveness.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say,
"O Allah, forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are the One who accepts repentance and is full of mercy." (Abu Dawood, Witr 26/1516)
On Eid nights, we should praise and give thanks to Allah for all His blessings.
Allah says:
"Trust in Allah, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence, and glorify Him with praise." (Al-Furqan, 58)
During these blessed days and nights, extra effort should be made to remember Allah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"The sign of loving Allah is to love to remember Him." (Suyuti, Al-Jami'us-Saghir II, 52)
Allah commands us to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), and it is said in the Hadiths that those who do so will have their problems removed and their sins forgiven.
In the Quran, it says:
"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace." (Al-Ahzab, 56)
