“In the name of Allah, the
Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the
Night of Decree. And what can make you know what the Night of Decree is? The
Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit
descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until
the emergence of dawn.” (97: 1-6)
In the light of these verses
of the Chapter Al-Qadr (the Destiny/Decree), it shall be good
for us to recall once again how these verses were revealed.
One day, the Holy Prophet
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was relating the life of a pious man (Wali) by
the name of Shamsun (ra) who used to live among the Children of Israel. From
what we understand, he was someone who used to pray a lot and struggle hard for
the cause of Allah for the duration of a thousand months. When the companions
of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) heard that, they became sad upon thinking that they
would never be able to surpass Hazrat Shamsun (ra). As an encouragement, Allah
said that if the Community of the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) indulge in acts of
worship during the Night of Decree (Laila-tul-Qadr), therefore
their prayers would earn rewards better than a thousand months of worship.
(Ruh’ul Bayan, Vol. 10 pg. 483)
In Hadith, Hazrat Anas bin
Malik (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah stated about the month of
Ramadan: “This month (of Ramadan) has begun and there is a night in it
better than one thousand month. So, any one deprived of its blessings is
actually deprived of all goodness. Indeed, He is truly deprived who is kept
away from its good.” (Ibn Majah, Mishkat)
Therefore, the Night of
Decree is a night filled with blessings and is very valuable. It is a great
divine favour upon the Ummah of the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) when transforming
acts of worship made during the Night of Decree into acts of worship (prayers)
which is worth more than a thousand months of blessings. For the communities of
the past prophets, there were no such designed night reserved for the descent
on earth of Hazrat Jibreel (as) and the angels except for the Muslims whereby
they send the divine peace on the Muslims absorbed in any act of worship and
thus these angels prays for them and ask forgiveness for them. In His wisdom,
Allah has hidden that special night in the last 10 holy nights of Ramadan so
that the Muslims make efforts to seek it. In this way, their courage increase
and they spend their time in worship for Allah so as to reap the blessings
concealed in the Night of Decree.
