The Night of Grandeur

IN Ramadan there is a special night referred to as Lailatul Qadr (The Night of Power). The Qur'an speaks about this night in two places. In sura 44 it is called as a blessed night, a night of grandeur and majesty. The very name of sura 97 is named after this significant night, Sura Al­Qadr in which this term is used three times.

Allah says: "Indeed, we have revealed this message in the Night of Power. And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is, the Night of Power is better than one thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit, by God's permission on every errand, peace, until the rise of the dawn."

As it is crystal clear from these verses that the importance of this night is that the revelation of the Holy Qur'an began in it. That is why it is thought that worshipping Allah in that night is more valuable than worshipping Him one thousand months. The Prophet has said: whoever stood for the prayers in the Night of Power, out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven. All these are attributed to the revelation of the Holy Qur'an as a guidance to the mankind.

The Qur'an is the most sacred Book in the world. It is the word of Allah, the Almighty. It is Allah's greatest blessing for us. It is the light with which to find our way to success and salvation. Because the humanity has received Divine guidance only through two channels - first, the word of Allah, secondly, the prophets who were chosen by Allah to communicate His will to human beings. These two things have always been going together and attempts to know the will of Allah by neglecting these have always been misleading. That is why the Qur'an hails to return to IT.

Since it is a healing to our inner sickness, it is healing to the ills of the world. IT tells about the Creator and His attributes. It tells us how He rules over the entire universe. The Holy Qur'an is the heart of Islam. The Qur'an is the uncreated word of Allah. It is the final message to man. It is extant in its original form. Allah Himself guaranteed its preservation till the Day of Judgment.

The distinctive approach of the Qur'an is that its instructions are aimed at the general welfare of man and are based on the possibilities within his reach. In all its dimensions the Qur'anic wisdom is conclusive. It neither condemns nor tortures the flesh nor does it neglect the soul. It does not humanise God nor does it defy man. Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total theme of creation. It touches instructions related to the all aspects of human life.

The subject matter of the Holy Qur'an can be broadly summed up under Tauhid (Monotheism), Risalath (Prophethood) and Akhirat (The life after death). It is made up of 114 suras of unequal length. It is one of the miracles given by Allah to his last Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

Since the month of Ramadan is blessed with the revelation of the last divine message, the Holy Qur'an, it has been thought that all acts of worships during this month are eligible for multiplied reward and favours from Allah. But Lailatul Qadr is a unique night in the life of a believer since it is better than one's lifetime.

On the basis of several traditions it is understood that the Prophet (pbuh) was shown the exact night of the Night of Power. He was however made to forget it so that believers may spend several nights in prayers and devotion in search of this blessed night. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) has advised us to look for it in the odd nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan.

The Prophet (pbuh) once said in the beginning of Ramadan, a month has come to you in which there is a night which is better than a thousand months, whoever deprives himself of its blessings is deprived of all blessings. And none is deprived of the blessings of the Night of Power except the most unfortunate.

Mathematically speaking one thousand months are equivalent to more than 83 years. Commenting on the wisdom bthis Imam Malik said in Muwatta: "The Prophet has been shown peoples' ages before him. So when he perceived that the average age of his ummat will not attain the same amount of good deeds as their long­lived predecessors, Allah has granted him The Night of Power which is better than a thousand months."

It is a great benefit indeed that one observes this night which is equivalent to attaining the benefits of 83 years or more of good deeds.

It is reported that with the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to pray all the nights and used to keep his family awake for the prayers.

Once wife of the Prophet (pbuh), Aisha' asked him, "O Messenger of Allah, if I know the day of Lailatul Qadr, what should I do specially?" The Prophet advised her, "O Aisha you say: 'O Allah, you are most forgiving, you love to forgive so forgive me.'"

We should increase this dua throughout the last 10 days of Ramadan particularly at the odd nights.

The Prophet (pbuh) used to practise Itikaf during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Itikaf is to confine oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations leaving the worldly affairs for a limited number of days. This is highly recommended during the last 10 days of Ramadan. -AV