DAILYREFLECTION
Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: 'Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?'
That call comes every night. This month, you have more night to hear it.
In July, Maghrib came after 8 pm and Fajr before 4. Now, in much of North America, they come around 6:20 and 5:50.
That's nearly four extra hours, with room to sleep well after Isha and still wake for the last third.
Still, long dark evenings can feel heavy.
In Norway, as far north as Svalbard, people who found real pleasures in winter were more satisfied with their lives. That outlook was more common the farther north they lived.
Every one of these long nights has a last third, and in it Allah asks who is calling Him.
When you wake, start with the remembrance he ﷺ taught, which opens La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, none is worthy of worship but Allah alone, without partner. Then ask His forgiveness, or ask for what you need. He ﷺ said that person is answered.
If a little one already wakes you at night, stay a few minutes longer with Him.
First step: tonight, pray Isha, go to bed early and set an alarm for an hour before Fajr. When it rings, say those words, make wudu, pray two rak'ah and bring Him the one thing you've been carrying. If there's time, rest until the adhan for Fajr.
Give the last third of these long nights to the One who is asking.
Reflect on this: What would I ask for if I truly believed the asking was answered?