4b] Laylat al-Qadr: The Night of Power

4b]
:-> twenty-ninth.''
Seeking The Night
It is recommended to seek the night and spend it diligently in
devotion, including night Sunnah prayers ( Tahajjud ), recitation of
Al-Qur'an and supplications. In a hadith related by Abu Hurairah
(raa), the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "He who spends the night in
prayer on the Night of Power, as a sign of His faith, and seeking
rewards from Allah, his previous sins willbe forgiven."
(Bukhari/Muslim) This citation indicates that regardless of whether a
person knows the night or not, Allah will grant him forgiveness for
previous shortcomings.
" And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is?; The Night
of Power is better than a thousand months." (Al-Qur`an 97:2-3)
Allah (SWT) is emphasizingby putting the second verse in question
form. The answer being no one knows, or comprehends, the awesomeness
and the depth of honor of the night. As if to say whatever merits
Allah informs you about the night is just nothing compared to the
things you have no idea about. Nonetheless, He mentions three honors
in the credit of the night: 1."The Night is better than a thousand
months. 2. "Therein, come down the angels..." and 3."Peace!"
The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. This indicates
thatacts of worship such as prayer, charity, and recitation done on
this night are better in reward than the same act done onother nights.
The rewards ( thawaab ) are being multiplied several-fold.
Imam Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah (saas) was shown the
long life span of people of previous nations, so the Prophet bemoaned
the shortness of the life span of the Ummah, fearing that they might
not be able to save many good deeds for the Hereafter. Therefore,
Allah gave him the Night of Power to compensate for their lack of
longevity. Hence, the devoted believer has as chance of adding 80
something years of worship to his life on the Night of Power. You see,
for instance, if you worshipAllah on this night every year for 65
years, by multiplying 65 by 80, you would have lived for 5,200years,
or achieved the reward of a person who lived that long.
You can see why the devotions were highly encouraged by the Prophet.
Indeed, you can achieve the honor of the Night of Power if you so wish
by spending the odd nights of the last ten days in acts of worship.
"Therein, come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission,
on every errand." (Al-Qur`an 97:4)
This is far from the earlier cry of the angels who, when Allah told
them, "...I will create a vicegerent on earth," they said, "Will
youplace therein one who willmake mischief therein and shed blood?..."
(Al-Qur`an, 2:30)
You see, when the angels first looked at our spirit with its traits of
mischief, vanity and desires, and therages of anger, they, the
embodiment of all that is good, did not like us at all. That explains
their response in the above verse. So is the case with parents, when
they first conceptualize the shape ofthe offspring, semen and
congealed blood; they do not like it. They will even wash their hands,
clothes and everything that this substance touches, a gruesome thing.
They mayeven think about aborting the baby in the beginning.
But after the baby is being fashioned in the most beautiful shape and
they feel the movement of life, they change from dislike to caring
love.
That is seemingly what happened to the angels. When they saw in us
this beautiful spirit of knowingthe Creator, and worshipping Allah
alone, they changed from dislike to complete love, and cannot wait for
another Night of Power to come down so they can pray for us. Allah
states: "...And they implore forgiveness for those who believe..."
(Al-Qur`an, 40:7)
He used the form ( tanazzal ) "They come", to indicate that the angels
descend on the Night of Power, group after group; some coming down to
earth while others ascend into the heaven. This heavenly, angelic
organized traffic of good will continues until the break of dawn.
As for the reasons why they come, there are several explanations
including: (1) they descendto witness how we worship and obey Allah,
and (2) to show their deeplove for the believers. This is why they
seek permission from Allah to come and meet us. This is a once-a-year
opportunity they do not like to miss. (3) Allah promised the believers
that in the hereafter, angels will approach on them with greetings:
"...And the angels shall enter into them from every gate (with the
salutation): Peace be unto you for thatyou persevered in patience..."
(Al-Qur`an, 13:23-24)
Now, if you preoccupy yourself with worship of Allah, the angels will
descend on you with salutations. (4) Allah (SWT)singles out this night
with honors on the earth so theangels can come down and increase their
rewards,and as a means to encourage the human raceto worship. :->

4a] Laylat al-Qadr: The Night of Power

4a]
:-> preordained or, in other words, has full knowledge of all that
the human being will do with his free will. A man's decision to act
freely in good conscience or bad conscience is all known to Allah
(SWT), past, present and future.
Qadr also implies measurement, that is all the events of the year will
occur in accordance to the exact measurement of what is in the
knowledge of Allah, Who states:"Verily, all things have We created in
proportion and measure." (Al-Qur`an, 54:49)
Why the name, the Night of Power?
As mentioned above, it is the night of Taqdeer, meaning the one in
which Allah (SWT) announces to the angels His already decreed
commands, rules, events, etc., for the comingcalendar year, from the
present Night of Power to the next Night of Power. Allah (SWT) states:
"We sent it down during a blessed night; We forever wish to warn
(against evil).In that (night) is made distinct every affair of
wisdom." (Al-Qur`an, 44:3-4)
It should be known that most scholars believe Allah's commands and
rules are not made on thatnight. It has already been decreed in the
eternity what is known to Allah, but that knowledge is not known to
anyone, including the angels, until He announces it to the angels on
that night so that they will record it on the protective slate.
This is also the night of honor and prestige which may be awarded to
the servant who devotes himself to special deeds, orto the deeds
themselves for the higher value they contain on that night.
The Night Is Concealed
Allah (SWT) in His mercy, has concealed the Night of Power from us for
the following reasons: The problems pertaining to an exact night on
which the honors are attained are not unique with this Night.It seems
that Allah conceals many things. He conceals his pleasure from us in
all our good deeds sothat we will strive in all of them. He conceals
His wrath from us in all of the sins we commit so that wewill avoid
them. He conceals His most beloved servants (' awliya ) so that we
will respect all the believers. He has concealedthe time of His
acceptance of our supplications so that we will strive in all our
supplications. He concealed his greatest name, so that we mention all
His names. He has concealed the time of death so that we will be
conscious of Him and our deeds all the time.
He has concealed the exactdate of the Night of Powerso that we would
double our the efforts in the whole month of Ramadan,or at least the
last ten days. He has concealed it also to test the serious andthe
non-serious. The seriously interested personwill search for the night
late and in the early hours until he or she attains it, regardless of
the hardship.
Where Is The Night?
The majority of the scholars who agreed that the night occurs in the
month of Ramadan, disagreed on the exact night. Some said it comes on
the first day of Ramadan. Others said it is on the seventh; while
others say its on the 19th night. All these opinions are not built on
sound proof. There is evidence that the night comes on the last ten
days of Ramadan, specifically on the odd numbered nights. In a report
by Bukhari, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "Seek it on the odd
nights of the last ten days of Ramadan."
In a hadith by Ibn Umar (raa), some men among the companions saw the
night in a dream occurring in the last seven nights. Responding to
this, the Messenger of Allah (saas) told them, "I see your dreams
coincide on the last seven, whoever wants to seek it should do so in
the last seven." (Agreed upon)
In Muslim's report, the Prophet (saas) said, "Seek the night in the
last ten days, and if any of you is weak, or can't observe it, he
should not miss the remaining seven days." In Hadith by Ubayy bin
Ka'ab (raa), he said: "By Allah, I know which night it is. It isthe
night the Messenger commanded us to observe,the night of the 27th."
(Ahmed/Tirmidhi)
Analyzing all these citations indicates still no one knows for sure
which night is the Night of Power, at least in a given year. It seems
that the night shifts and rotates to different nights from one year to
another. It may occur on the 27th in one year, while the next year
itwill be on the 25th, while on the following year it will be
occurring on the 29th, etc. There is an indication to this in hadith
by Bukhari, when the Messenger of Allah (saas) states: "Seek it on the
twenty-ninth; it may be onthe twenty-seventh, or on the twenty-fifth."
Imam Ibn Hajr, in his book, "Fathul Bari" , in the commentary of the
Book of Bukhari, said: ``I accept the ruling that the night occurs on
the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, namely the
twenty-first, twenty-third, twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh and or
twenty-ninth.'':->

4] Laylat al-Qadr: The Night of Power

4]
Let's analyze the significance of Laylat al-Qadr with commentary, (
tafseer ) on chapter 97 of Al-Qur'an, Al-Qadr (the Night of Power).
Al-Qadr
This chapter ( surah ) was revealed in Makkah, and itsbasic theme is
honoring the revelation of this blessed book, the Holy Qur`an. The
Night of Power or honor is a specialgift only to the community(Ummah)
of Islam. The night is one which even the angels in the heavens see as
worthy of witnessing. The night is so rich with holiness, as the night
when good deeds are returned, and is equal to a thousand months in the
sight of Allah.
Occasion Of Revelation
In a report by Abi Hatim and Al-Wahidi, by way of Mujahid, the
Messenger (saas) mentioned that there was a man among the Israelites
who devotedhis life to the cause of Allah for a thousand months. The
companions were amazed and impressed, but were saddened because they
knew there would be no way that they could reach this status of
devotion. So Allah (SWT) revealed this surah to inform them that He
had just blessed this Ummah with the Night of Honor, which is equal to
a thousand months.
"We have indeed revealed it, (Al-Qur`an) in the Night of Power."
(Al-Qur`an 97:1)
There are several points pertaining to the meaning of this verse:
The meaning and the use of the pronoun "We" is a style in Al-Qur`an
that when the Creator (SWT) is mentioned as a pronoun, He is referred
to by "We" or "I," as is evidenced in this surah. Elsewhere He said,
"Behold, thy Lord saidto the angels: `I will createa vicegerent..."
(Al-Qur`an, 2:30) . There is no problemwhen Allah uses the pronoun "I"
to refer to His Exalted Self, but when he uses "We" the explanation
becomes warranted because it cannot be perceived to indicate plural.
There is unanimity among the scholars that"We" indicates respect
andexaltation for the Creator and Cherisher of all the worlds, whose
greatness isincomprehensibly vast andbeyond our imagination.
Or, it is referring to Allah (SWT) and the angels who carry out his
words to one all, in every level of His dominion. It cannot mean
plural, or more than One Allah, for that would necessitate dropping in
ranks, the absoluteness, and the powers of each competing deity. If
each is capable of being absolute, each would have been independent
from the other and the idea that each deity can be independent from
the other, is evidence that none is absolute. This is inconceivable of
Allah (SWT) therefore, "We" cannot mean anything butrespect and
exaltation of the One and Only.
"...Have Indeed Revealed ItIn the Night of Power" (Al-Qur`an 97:1)
There is again unanimity among the commentators that "it" refers to
Al-Qur'an , meaning "We revealed" Al-Qur'an in the Night of Power. He
(SWT) did not mention Al-Qur'an explicitly because to refer to
Al-Qur'an by the pronoun implies a certain divine uniqueness of this
book, as well as greatness and honor that may not beattained if the
word Al-Qur'an was used instead. First, it ascribed the revelation of
Al-Qur'an to Himself, and not to anyone else. Second, referring to
Al-Qur'an by pronoun is an indication that the revelation of this book
was not a secret thatno one knew about. Its revelation was an event
widely known to all duringthe time of Muhammad (saas) and after,
guarding against anyone who may like to challenge it or claimany honor
of teaching Muhammad (saas) Al-Qur'an . Third, the statement also
meant to honor and memorialize the time period in which Al-Qur'an was
revealed.
By revealing Al-Qur'an in the Night of Power, Allah (SWT) inaugurated
or started its revelation for the beginning of the prophethood (
'Bi'ethah ), and the Prophet's mission of Al-Islam began in the month
of Ramadan on that Night. Al-Qur'an was not revealed in one night; it
was revealed over the course of 23 years. Ibn Abbas (raa) said: The
whole Qur'an was revealedto the lower heavens fromthe protective slate
( Lawhul Mahfuz ) on the Night of Power, then from there to the earth
in the course of 23 years.
The word power, Al-Qadr , has several implications and meaning, but we
cover only those implications which are relevant to the issues here.
Qadr implies having powerover something, as in the case of the Creator
over the creation. Allah's (SWT) excellence is Al-Qadr , capable,
omnipotent, almighty, all powerful. It also implies excellence andhigh
esteem, and as for this Night of Power, it is highly esteemed and
regarded. For this night is equal to over 80 years in the sight of
Allah (SWT).
It also implies to maintain,appoint, assign or decree an order. Thus,
in the Night of Power, Allah (SWT) proclaims to the angels His
commands and orders in regards to the affairs of the universe. From
this meaning is derived the concept of Al-Qada Wa Qadar , the fifth
article of faith, that Allah has decreed or preordained or,:->

2a] Laylat ul-Qadr: Peace Until Fajr

2a]
After Fajr, as the sun creeps above the horizon, reddish and weak in
its appearance, without any rays, the effort at night will have been
worthwhile. The believer rejoices, knowing that this was quite
possibly Lailat-ul-Qadr and "whoever stays up (in prayer and
remembrance of Allah) on the Night of Qadr fully believing (in Allah's
promise of reward for thatnight) and hoping to seek reward (from Allah
alone and not from people), he shall be forgiven for his past sins."
[Bukhari, Muslim]