Laylat Al-Qadr,
the night of a thousand months
During the last 10 days of Ramadan, mosques in general are full
to the brim with worshipers seeking God’s mercy.
Sunday, August 04, 2013
JEDDAH — Laylat Al-Qadr, the Night of Power or the Night of Destiny, is the holiest night of the year for Muslims all over the world. Though opinions vary, many concur that the night falls on the 27th of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting when the faithful abstain from food and drink and sexual intimacy from dawn to dusk.
Muslims around the world spend Laylat Al-Qadr in prayer and quiet reflection, some secluding themselves in mosques hoping to seek the unparalleled reward of a night when sins are forgiven and angels descend on earth.
Laylat Al-Qadr commemorates the night in 610 AD when the first verses the Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Cave Hira situated on top of a mount in Makkah, which has since been known as the Jabal Al-Noor, the Mountain of Enlightenment.
According to traditions, the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Muhammad (pbuh), who had retreated to Cave Hira, with the exhortation, "Read! In the name of your Lord, Who created (all that exists). He created man from a clot of congealed blood. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who imparted knowledge by means of the pen.” (Qur’an 96:1-4). These were the very first verses of the Holy Book, which was revealed to the Prophet over a period spanning 23 years.
“Ramadan is the commemoration of the Holy Qur’an’s revelation, and the Laylat Al-Qadr is the climax of the celebrations,” said a Dawa activist who did not want to be named.
The Qur’an says: “We have indeed 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 a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand: There is peace until the appearance of the dawn.” (Chapter 97, Al-Qadr).
The importance of this night is also mentioned in several Hadiths (the Prophet’s sayings as related by his companions). According to one such Hadith, whoever establishes the prayers on the Night of Power out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards will have all his past sins forgiven.
Reward for worship in this night, according to the Qur'an, is equivalent to reward for worship in 1,000 months. It is a night greater than an entire lifetime.
However, the Prophet (pbuh) did not say when exactly this most auspicious night would be, but scholars are almost unanimous in their view that it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Many give emphasis to the 27th night of Ramadan being Laylat Al-Qadr, but scholars concur that the Prophet’s advice to "seek it on the odd nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan" indicates the importance of anticipating it on other days as well.
Azzam Al-Shwaier, chair of educational supervision at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, said the night might fall anytime during the last 10 days of Ramadan. He quoted a saying by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in which he said it might be the 24th night of Ramadan.
“There is a reason why the specific time or day of this night is not known. It is because Allah wants people to pray and ask for forgiveness throughout the last 10 days of Ramadan.”
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said the Prophet did not specify the time of the Night of Power.
Hamid Saeed, a Dawa activist, said there is nothing in the Holy Qur’an or in the Prophet’s sayings that specifies the date of the Night of Power. “Specifying a date would have led to extreme crowdedness in places of worship, especially the Grand Mosque in Makkah, as everyone would want to gain the benefits of the night,” he said, while adding that Muslims are supposed to increase good deeds on this night because it carries great reward.
During the last 10 days of Ramadan, mosques in general are full to the brim with worshipers seeking God’s mercy. Millions converge on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to seek blessings of this special night. Many are seen sitting with their hands raised to the skies with tears rolling down their cheeks and their hearts trembling out of devotion.
Saeed, however, discouraged people from performing Umrah on the 27th of Ramadan as it would be difficult for them to focus on the rituals because of the huge crowds. He said Allah alone knows the specific time of the Night of Power.
“It’s wrong to assume for sure that the 27th night is the Laylat Al-Qadr. How could one know for sure it’s the 27th when Allah did not specify it to His Prophet? Muslims should look at the last 10 nights of Ramadan as the Night of Power. It could be any night.”
There are also several myths associated with the Laylat Al-Qadr, which according to scholars are baseless and unfounded.
Saud Al-Fenaisan, former dean of School of Shariah at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, says the signs of the Night of Power some companions mentioned should not be taken for granted. Some of them said the night is characterized by the disappearance of sun rays during the morning.
Al-Fenaisan said the Laylat Al-Qadr does not have any such signs.
Khalid Al-Zoaq, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Science, said there is no scientific proof that the sun will not have rays in the morning of the Night of Power.
He added that research conducted over several decades has proved beyond doubt that sun rays have always been there and there is no one morning that has come without sun rays during Ramadan or at any other time of the year. The late Saudi scholar Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jibreen had once said that established scientific facts related to the sun and the moon “will remain unchanged until the Day of Judgment.”
Muslims all over the world will each year continue to patiently seek Laylat Al-Qadr where worship carries the weight of 1,000 months in the last 10 days of Ramadan, but trying sincerely to catch the reward of the blessed night is in fact about maintaining a spiritual connection with God that transcends the bounds of time and space.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20130804175858 
