All praises are due to Allah, who revealed the Qur’aan on a night that is better than a thousand months - the Night of Power. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon his Noble Messenger who would tie his waist-cloth, leave his family and exert himself in these chosen nights. May the Peace and Blessing of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions and all those who follow his way till the Hour. Ameen
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As the stars witness the years pass, some stars outdo others.
As the dark and fathomless waves overcome, stronger tides take power.
As the nights pass all year round within their darknesses and stillnesses, there emerges one night full of secrets- unlike any other.
Yes, a night like none other, the night of power and decree: the night of Laylatul Qadr…
As the nights glisten on, the desert’s sand whilrling in its orbit, this night emerges in which the Lord chose to reveal his Last Word within the Arabian desert.
The archangel Gabriel descends from the heavens above, to the realm of the low[1], to our Beloved Messenger Muhammad (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam), just as Allah said:
{Verily! We have sent it (this Qur'ân) down in the night of Al-Qadr}
As the night passes, know that this is a night which carries the power of 83 years and 4 months. Yes, it is one night, but it is like living through a thousand months. Ah, even then seldom are those who will extract the hidden treasures embedded within its dark layers; the feeble mind cannot fathom the intensity of the words of Allah:
{And what will make you know what the night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is?
The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months.}
As you stand on this night, don’t forget that another creation has descended in your presence. Don’t fear O Believer, they are from the same creation who helped the Prophet (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) and his Companions when the eyes swayed and the hearts leapt to the throat out of fear in the battle of Badr. They are the same friends that descend when you recite Qur’aan, the same friends that attend your gatherings in which Allah is remembred; they are the same friends that lower their wings out of honour for the one who sincerely seeks Islamic knowledge.
Friend’s unseen, yet so known: the angels created from light.
And yet again are they coming in the 21st Century, but at their head is the same Archangel Gabriel who was a frequent and beloved vistor of the Last of the Messengers, the Noble Prophet Muhammad (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam).
The name of this night must echo in your ears, since its name represents a greater reality, the reality of Qadr (Divine Decree). As this night passes know that in it is the appointed term for everything fixed and in it are the blessings of our Lord are apportioned[2],
{Therein descend the angels and the Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] by Allâh's permission with All Decrees.
Peace! Until the appearance of dawn.}
In this night let your heart rest as it is a night of peace, from the Lord of Peace. Submerge in its comfort, until the break of dawn; since at dawn will break open again the world of choas, pain and injustice.
When hearts have become heavy, agitated and restless and lost in sin, here comes a night which Allaah's Messenger (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) described as: "…calm and pleasant…"[3] Let’s take from the the dampness of these nights to scrub our hearts clean, to change our state and rejuvinate. We must do so, otherwise the reason given by Ibraheem bin Adham (rahmahullah) for our du’as not being accepted stand true ‘...You know Allaah, yet you do not obey Him...’[4] Does that sound familiar? The secret of our prayers being answered on this night is to change that which is in ourselves, if this prerequisite is not implemented, I fear that we may not reap the fruits that only few take from this night.
Abu Said Al Khudri (radiAllahu a’nhu) said that on the Night of Power: “…The Prophet (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) led us in the prayer and I saw the traces of mud on the forehead and the nose of Allah’s Apostle…”[5] Let’s become humble and willing to change infront of our Lord; let’s remember that we were created from the eartth and to it we are returning.
Let’s make the most of a night, in whose depths lay secrets awaiting the seeker.
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[1] The dunya : The derivation of the term ‘dunya’ (world) comes from a root word which means low/lowly.
[2] Qatadah (rahmahullah) and others have said it means that the Divine Decrees are issued at that night, the appointed time of everything is fixed and the blessings are apportioned. (Please refer to the tafseer of this surah in Ibn Katheer.)
[3] The full hadeeth is: Allaah's Messenger (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) said: "Lailatul-Qadr is calm and pleasant, neither hot nor cold, the sun arises on its morning being feeble and red." (at-Tayaalisee, Ibn Khuzaimah and al-Bazzaar with a Hasan Isnad)
[4] Taken from Khushoo fis-Salaat (p.62) of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee - rahimahullah. Ibraheem bin Adham- may Allaah have mercy on him - a third century scholar, a teacher and a companion of Sufyaan ath-Thawree, was asked about the saying of Allaah - the Most High: “And your Lord says: ‘Call on me, I will answer your Prayer...” [40:60] "We supplicate and we are not answered."
So he said to them:
You know Allaah, Yet you do not obey Him,
You recite the Qur'aan, Yet do not act according to it,
You know Shaitaan(Devil), Yet you have agreed with him,
You proclaim that you love Muhammed, (Saws) Yet you abandon his Sunnah,
You proclaim your love for Paradise, Yet you do not act to gain it,
You proclaim your fear the Fire, Yet you do not prevent yourselves from sins,
You say "Indeed death is true", Yet you have not prepared for it,
You point out the faults with others, Yet you do not look at your faults,
You eat of that which Allah has provided for you, Yet you do not thank Him,
You bury your dead, Yet you do not take a lesson from it."
[5] It was narrated by Abu Salama: "Once I went to Abu Said al-Kudri and asked him, "Won’t you come with us to the date palm trees to have a talk?" So Abu Said replied, "Once Allah’s Apostle performed Iktikaaf on the first 10 days of the month of Ramadhan and we did the same with him. Gabriel came to him and said, "The night you are looking for is ahead of you." So the Prophet (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) performed the Iktikaaf in the middle (second) 10 days of the month of Ramadhan and we too performed Iktikaaf with him. Gabriel came to him and said, "The night which you are looking for is ahead of you." On the morning of the 20th Ramadhan, the Prophet (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) delivered a sermon saying: "Whoever has performed Iktikaaf with me should continue it. I have been shown the Night of ‘Qadr’, but have forgotten the date, but it is in the odd nights of the last 10 nights. I saw in my dream that I was prostrating in mud and water." In those days the roof of the mosque was made of branches of date palm trees. At the same time the sky was clear and no cloud visible, but suddenly a cloud came and it rained. The Prophet (salallahu a’lyhi wasalam) led us in the prayer and I saw the traces of mud on the forehead and the nose of Allah’s Apostle. So it was the confirmation of that dream." (al-Bukhari, Volume 1:777)