Why is the night of power important in Islam?

Why is the night of power important in Islam?

According to Bukhari and Muslims, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever believes in Allah on Laylat al-Qadr and worships in the hope of reward for his satisfaction, all his previous sins will be forgiven."

It is mentioned in Tafseer Mareful Qur'an and Tafseer Mazhari, ‘The Prophet (peace be upon him) was once listening to the Companions about the deeds of an Abid and Zahid man of the Children of Israel. He was saying that the obedient person would stay awake all night for a thousand months, perform acts of worship, and remembrance, fast all day long, and fight in the way of Allah.

The Companions were saddened to hear of that person and their short life span. At that time Surah Qadr was revealed and it said- "Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months."

In other words, if one can spend time in various good times including Ibadat-Bandegi, and Zikir-Azkar without sleeping for just one night, it may be possible to get much more thawab than doing Ibadat for thousands of consecutive months.

Laylat al-Qadr, or the Night of Power

Laylat al-Qadr, or the "Night of Power" is an Islamic festival commemorating the night that Allah first revealed the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through the angel Gabriel. It is believed to have occurred on one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan in 610 AD, although the exact night is unclear. The date of the annual commemoration thus varies throughout the Islamic world but is most commonly observed on the 23rd night of Ramadan for Shia Muslims and on the 27th for Sunni Muslims.

According to Islamic tradition, the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad (SAW) after a period of solitary meditation. During one of his retreats to Laylat al-Qadr, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and commanded him: "Iqra!"

In addition to the celebration of the revelation of the Qur'an, the annual observance of Laylat al-Qadr carries additional significance as a night where angels descend to earth with innumerable deeds, leading to a night of peace, blessings, and divine guidance (Qadr) till dawn. Thus it is remembered with solemnity, devotion, and prayer and some observers spend the festival in a mosque in retreat (i'tikaf).

Since then, Muslims consider the last ten nights of Ramadan to be particularly blessed. Muslims believe that the Night of Power comes in abundance with Allah's blessings and mercy, sins are forgiven, prayers are accepted, and annual orders are revealed to the angels who conduct it according to Allah's grace.

What is the way to recognize the night of Qadr?

Some signs of recognizing the night of Laylat al-Qadr have been narrated in various hadiths. A total of 10 signs of this night have been discussed in various books of Hadith including Bukhari, Muslim, and Ibn Khumaima. They are-

Signs 1: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘In the last ten days of Ramadan, seek the Night of Power’. Three signs of this night are determined by this hadith: i. the night will be in the month of Ramadan. ii. It will be in the last decade of Ramadan. iii. It will be the odd night of the last decade.

Signs 2: There is a possibility of this night in the last seven days of Ramadan. According to a narration from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever wants to seek Laylat al-Qadr, let him seek it in the last seven nights of Ramadan."

Signs-3: The 27th night of Ramadan, i.e. the daytime night of the 26th of Ramadan is most likely to be Laylat al-Qadr. Muslim narrates that Hazrat Ubayy ibn Kab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said, ‘I swear by Allah, as far as I know, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed us to make the night of power as Qiyamullail; that is the 27th night of Ramadan. '

Signs-4: The night will not be filled with deep darkness. That means the darkness of this night will be less than the other night.

Signs-5: The weather that night will be temperate. That means there will be no heat or cold that night.

Signs-6: Mild wind will continue to blow throughout the night.

Signs-7: People will be more satisfied by worshiping that night.

Signs-8: Allah may inform a believer about the night in a great dream.

Signs - 9: It may rain that night.

Signs- 10: In the morning of that night the sunrise will be slight light rays. The first Sun of that morning will be like the full moon.

What to do/do not as a Muslim that night?

Things to do: On this glorious night, every Muslim has some deeds to do. Because this night comes only once a year and to get a Qadr night means to have the privilege of worshiping the great Lord for thousands of months.

Therefore, the first thing every Muslim should do is to prepare for the odd night of the last decade of the holy month of Ramadan by spending it on worship at any cost.

The second thing to do is to perform Maghrib, Isha, and Fajr prayers in the mosque with the congregation every odd night.

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The third thing to do is to spend time in any kind of good deeds including Salatut Tasbeeh and various Nafl prayers, recitation of the Quran, and Zikir-Azkar.

The fourth thing to do is to do more and more repentance-doa-munajat. It is narrated in Hadith No. 351 of Tirmidhi Sharif, narrated from Hazrat Ayesha (RA) that she said, ‘Once I asked the Messenger (SAW), O Messenger of Allah! If I could be aware of the Night of Power; what do I do? Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked me to recite this prayer. The prayer is: (Arabic pronunciation) ‘Allahumma innaka afuun tuhibbul afwa fa’fu anni’. Meaning: ‘O Allah! You are forgiving; you love to forgive. So forgive me. '

The fifth thing to do is to give alms on this night.

One thing not to mention here is how the menstruating women of this period will perform Amal-Ibadat on this night during the period? Will they then be deprived of the blessings of this glorious night? No, of course not. Women who are in pediatrics or menstruating women will be able to do more prayers-istigfar-tawba and zikr-azkar sitting in Jain prayers without reciting any kind of prayers and Qur'an on this night and will also be able to do charity.

Excluded: Some imaginary periods have been introduced in Muslim society centering on this fortunate night. Every believer-Muslim should give up various imaginary acts of worship on this glorious night. The practice of 12 rak'ats or 20 rak'ats of prayers in the Muslim society called Shabe Qadr prayers is a complete innovation. There is no separate provision of prayers in Islam on the occasion of this night. You can spend the whole night in prayers or any other act of worship if you want. But there is no specific prayer for Shabe Qadr of specific rak'at. The rules and regulations of Shabe Qadr prayers and the rules of reciting certain suras are described in different books; they are not pure. There is no evidence of any such rule or provision from Hadith Sharif. So abandoning these imaginary methods and doing more and more different acts of worship.

Many believing Muslim brothers and sisters visit graves on this night. There is no authentic description of visiting the grave on the night of Qadr the Prophet (peace be upon him). So even if it is good, it would be better to refrain from visiting the grave on Lailatul Qadr and to be engaged in other acts of worship.

Apart from this, various festive events were observed in different Muslim countries including Bangladesh on the night of Qadr. One thing that every believer-Muslim brother should keep in mind is that there is real happiness in spending every second, every minute, and every hour of the whole night in various acts of worship as described in the Qur'an and Sunnah without engaging in any unnecessary arrangement on the glorious Lailatul Qadr.

Finally, let us recall some of the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him). In Ibn Majah Sharif, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘the person who is deprived of Shabe Qadr ’; seems to be completely deprived of all welfare. '

Abu Dawood Sharif mentions that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) narrated from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that there is no one in the world who is as miserable as the one who received Laylat al-Qadr but could not spend time in worship. So in the holy month of Ramadan, Lailatul Qadr is knocking on your door. I will spend this night in Amal-Ibadah and write my name on the list of the lucky ones or I will remain unlucky; we have to decide.