One
day the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad (pbuh) related the life of a
saintly person who was called Shamsoon (ra) who lived among the Bani
Israel. He had done acts of worship of all kinds and holy war for a
period of a 1000 months. Listening to this story, a Sahabi
(companion) pointed out to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that the longevity
of his Ummah
(community) is shorter than that of Hadhrat Shamsoon (ra). The Sahabi
also pointed out that one cannot do the same amount of Ibadat
(acts of worship) as Hadhrat Shamsoon (ra). It was at this time that
Hadhrat Jibra’il (as) appeared and recited the Surah Al-Qadr
(Decree).
The Benefits of the Night of Decree
According
to Hadhrat Abu Huraira (ra) and other Hadith narrators, during the
night of Qadr (Laylatul Qadr), innumerable angels descend on earth
and because of this, the gates of heaven are opened. At that moment,
the lights shine, the special manifestations occur, the celestial
world is unveiled. People can then contemplate it in varying degrees
(depending on their ability / the spiritual level which they reached
and the degree of their faith - Iman).