7a] When the Night Equals a Thousand

7a]
:-> Laylatul Qadr is the most blessed night. A person who misses it
has indeed missed a great amount of good. The Mu'min should search for
it in the last ten nights of Ramadan, passing the nights in worship
and obedience.
For those who catch the opportunity, their gift is that of past sins wiped away.
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) illustrated for
us some of the things we should be doing on this Grand Night. From his
blessed Sunnah we find the following:
Praying Qiyaam (night prayer):
It is recommended to make a long qiyaam prayer during the nights on
which Laylatul Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many ahadeeth,
such as "Whoever stands (in qiyaam) in Laylatul Qadr [and it is
facilitated for him] out of faith and expectation (of Allah's reward),
will have all of hisprevious sins forgiven." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim;
the addition "and it is facilitated for him" is recorded by Ahmad from
the report of 'Ubaadah Bin as-Samit; it means that he is permitted to
be among the sincere worshippers during that blessed night.]
Making Supplications:
It is also recommended to make extensive supplication on this night.
'A'ishah reported that she asked Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam) "O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylatul
Qadr, what should I say during it?" And he instructed her to say:
"Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee - (O Allah!
Youare forgiving, and you loveforgiveness. So forgive me)." [An
authentic Hadith recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and at-Tirmidhi.]
Abandoning Worldly Pleasures for the Sake of Worship:
It is further recommended to spend more time in worship during the
nights on which Laylatul Qadr is likely to fall. This calls for
abandoning many worldly pleasures in order to secure the time and
thoughts solely for worshipping Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala).
'A'ishah reported: "When the (last) ten started, the Prophet
(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would tighten his izaar (i.e. he stayed
away from his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the
whole night awake (in prayer) and wake up his family." [Al-Bukhari and
Muslim]
And she said: "Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used to
exert more (in worship) onthe last ten than on other nights." [Muslim]
Have we estimated Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) correctly?
The opportunity of Laylatul Qadr is coming in the next few days. Life
is about people that take advantage of their opportunities to win the
love of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala), and this is indeed one of those
chances.
Abu Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that
which is greater than the heavens and the earth. An adult companion of
the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) cultivated his garden next
to the property of an orphan. Theorphan claimed that a specific palm
tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion
rejected the claim and off to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) went the orphan boy to complain. With his justness,
the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) measured the two
gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the
companion. The orphan erupted crying.Seeing this, the Prophet
(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) offered the companion, "would you give
him the palm tree and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?" However, the
companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to the
Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) missed the opportunity and went
away angry.
But someone else saw the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah- radi Allahu 'anhu.
He went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked, "Ya
Rasul Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to the orphan
shall I have that tree in Jannah?" The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) replied, "Yes."
Abu Dah Daah chased afterthe companion and asked,"Would you sell that
tree to me for my entire garden?" The companion answered, "Take it for
there is no good in a tree that I was complained to the Prophet
about."
Immediately, Abu Dah Daah went home and found his wife and children
playing in the garden. "Leave the garden!" shouted Abu Dah Daah,
"we've sold it to Allah! We've sold it to Allah!" Some of his children
had dates in their hand and he snached the dates from them and threw
them back into the garden. "We've sold it to Allah!"
When Abu Dah Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul
Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) stood over his slainbody and
remarked, "How many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in
paradise?"
What did Abu Dah Daah lose? Dates? Bushes? Dirt? What did he gain? He
gained a Jannah whose expanse is the heavens and the earth.