The blessed Night of Power has arrived
The Night of Power or Destiny is an extremely important night for Muslims. It is the night in which our code of guidance, the Holy Quran, was revealed from the Lord of the Universe to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Quran was revealed in Ramadan (2:185), and traditionally Muslims celebrated the Night of Power on the 27th night of Ramadan. God describes this night as better than a thousand months.
Because the Night of Power is such a special night, those Muslims who want to gain extra credit of righteousness spend the night by commemorating God the Almighty either in their privacy or in a mosque with other Muslims.
There are also some Muslims who retreat to a mosque in the last ten days of Ramadan to take advantage of God’s blessings further and increase their faith of submission.
It falls in the last ten days of Ramadan. Muslims always devote themselves to Allah by spending these days reading Quran, praying for the whole night, doing zikr (remembrance of Allah) and supplicating to Allah to forgive all their past sins and accept their acts.
Syedana Abû Hurayra relates that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said:“Whosoever worshipped on Laylatul-Qadr, with faith and with a sincere intention, all of his previous sins are forgiven.” (Bukhârî and Muslim).
Any person who abstained from this night has rejected the good receivable during it and any person who rejected the good receivable during it is undoubtedly a rejected person.” (Sunan Ibn Mâja).
What can be said about a person, who during this night avoids grasping the gifts available and chooses the path of sinning? We are prepared to stay awake for meaningless talk and socializing, but will not stay awake during a night, which contains more rewards than worship made for eighty years.
Syedana Anas reports that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) stated the following about the virtues of Laylatul-Qadr: ”During Laylatul-Qadr, Jibraeel descends to the earth with some angels and invokes Allah for the forgiveness of those who spend their time remembering Allah in any way”
When the Night of spiritual darkness is dissipated by the Glory of God, a wonderful Peace and a sense of Security arise in the soul. And this last on until this life closes, and the Glorious Day of the spiritual world dawns, when everything will be on different plane, and the chequered night and days of this world will be even less than a dream.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (praise and peace be upon him) said: “Whosoever offers voluntary prayers during the Night of Power out of belief and charging Allah with its recompense will have his past sins forgiven.” - Hadith, compiled by Bukhari and Muslim.
This Night is an opportunity to open out our hearts unto Him Who revealed the Holy Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who kept Allah’s message everliving.
What one does while seeking out Laylatul Qadr will vary from person to person. Praying the Isha prayer, the night prayer, and the Fajr prayer, the prayer at dawn, in congregation is important as is every minute in between. Some will then stand for hours in ritual prayer. Others will read or listen to the Quran being recited. Some will sit with their hands raised to the skies with tears falling from their eyes as their hearts tremble out of devotion.
A scholar explains the significance of this night saying: “You illuminate the mosques on the Night of Qadr and make it as bright as the day, while your hearts are as dark as the darkest night. Know that illuminations are not enough. When you light the lamps, remind yourselves that your dark hearts, without inner purifications, will not become enlightened by the lamps.” (The writer is a former KT staffer)