When
the month of Ramadan begins, Muslims perform Ibadat (acts of
worship) with great enthusiasm to please Allah. The Ibadat
made during this month include obligatory acts (Fardh) as well
as many voluntary/ additional (Nafl) acts of worship, and the
mosques are filled with worshipers, Alhamdulillah. But
Insha-Allah, it is essential also that this state of things
remain the same even after the month of Ramadan. In this blessed
month, the tendency to help the poor and the needy is also great and
very important.
The Laila-tul-Qadr
During
this month, we get the night of Lailatul Qadr also called,
Shabe Qadr (The Night of Power). According to the Hadiths of
our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), the rewards for the
Ibadat performed during this night are equal to the Ibadat
performed for more than a thousand months and if we calculate all
this well and do not make any mistake in our way of counting (our
math), so it is equal to 83 years and 4 months. Taking into
consideration the length of human life today, it would be impossible
for a person to do this great amount of Ibadat during his
whole life, even if he does it day and night.
There
is a story behind that Night. A person named Samsun (ra) belonging to
the Tribe of Israel was a person who made a lot of Ibadat. He
used to fight against the infidels and the latter feared him a lot.
Allah (swt) had given him such strength that even the army of the
infidels had no hold over him to defeat him, or even to wound him.
So, in the life of Samsun (ra) there is a very interesting story,
concerning his faith (Imaan) in Allah, his courage and the
strength he possessed. He was always ready to do Jihad for a
thousand months. When the Messenger of Allah, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh)
heard the story about this extraordinary person who belonged to the
Children of Israel from the Archangel Gabriel (as), his thought was
for his Ummah (his community). He thought that life was short
and that we would not have the opportunity to receive the same
intensity of blessings bestowed upon Samsun (ra) for his devotions
and loyalty for a thousand months.
Allah
(swt) therefore accepted the desire of His Messenger and granted to
Him and His Ummah (community) a great favour; such favour that
the other Ummat (communities) did not receive; such a favour
with an extraordinary prescription, that is, the Lailatul Qadr,
the Night of Power. It was during this very night that the Holy Quran
was revealed, that is to say, the pure revelations of Allah on His
beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
Looking for the Laila-tul-Qadr
According to the traditions (Sunnan) we have to look for that night during the odd nights during the last ten days of Ramadan. That is, the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th nights. The signs of this night is that it is neither too cold nor too hot. During that night the believers (Mumineen) perceive an intense feeling of satisfaction.
According to the traditions (Sunnan) we have to look for that night during the odd nights during the last ten days of Ramadan. That is, the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th nights. The signs of this night is that it is neither too cold nor too hot. During that night the believers (Mumineen) perceive an intense feeling of satisfaction.
I
made a calculation, but bear in mind, this is not a revelation and it
may not be accurate. When we read Surah Al-Qadr, the term Lailatul
Qadr is mentioned three times: in the first, second, and third
verses after the Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim. In the Arabic
language, the term Lailatul Qadr, or Lailatul Qadri is
composed of nine letters. These nine letters are mentioned three
times and thus 9 multiplied by 3 (9x3), this gives us a total of 27.
Several
companions of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) such as Hazrat
Ibn Abbas and Ubayy bin Ka’b (ra) reported that the Lailatul
Qadr is indeed the 27th night (of Ramadan) and its
sign is that when the sun rises in the morning, there are no beams/
rays around it. (Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi).
Hazrat
Aisha (ra) reported that she had asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
if he knew which night was the Lailatul Qadr and what should
she recite if she encountered such a Night. The Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) recommended her to recite the following prayer abundantly:
ʻAllahumma
innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni’.”
(O Allah, You are forgiving and You love to forgive, so forgive me).”
(Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Mishkat)...
I
hope and pray that Allah will bestow the blessings of Lailatul
Qadr on all my sincere, faithful
followers who have the fear of Allah in their hearts and who love
Allah and whom Allah loves in return, and I pray also for all those
who have failings in their faith, may Allah also pour upon you the
blessings of Lailatul Qadr
so that it becomes a source of light for you and bring you out of the
state of uncertainty and laziness in religion to become enlightened
souls that will be so strong tomorrow that they will be able to stand
up and lead the world to Allah. Insha-Allah,
Ameen.
----Extracts from the Friday Sermon of 08
June 2018 (23 Ramadan 1439 AH) delivered by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.