By: haqislam.org
Source: http://www.haqislam.org/last-night-of-ramadhaan/
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,
‘On the last night of Ramadhaan the fasting Muslims are forgiven.’ The Sahaabah radiyallahu anhum inquired,
‘O Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, is that the night of power?’ Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam replied,
‘No! But it is only right that a servant should be given his reward on having completed his duty.’ [Ahmad]
Thus the night before Eid al-Fitr is also a very blessed night and Muslims believe that it should be spent in nafl (voluntary) salat (prayers) and worship. There will be no taraweeh prayers on this last night of Ramadan, but a devout Muslim will spend the night in prayer, remembrance of Allah and reading the Quran.
Before the Eid al-Fitr salat, Mulsims will be sure to pay the “Sadaqah Al-Fitr.” This is money due to the poor and the needy. Every Muslim must pay this, even the poor. Sadakah al-Fitr is a fairly small amount of money equal to 1.75 kilograms of wheat due for every person in the family (more details on this are forthcoming).
On this topic, Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made zakat al-Fitr obligatory for the Muslims – slave and free, male and female, young and old, being a sa’ of dates or a sa’ of barley. He commanded that it be paid before people went out to the prayer.” (Muwatta, Book 17, 52)