Exploring Ramadan Part VI

'Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan'

Monday, September 14, 2009 11:42:37 PM, Team ummid.com

Fasting time continues all around the Muslim world and men, women and children alike, while fasting, are praying for the well being of the mankind and the global peace. At the same time everyone is also busy with their routine works.

While every moment of this holy month is precious, no night during the year can match the one very special night that comes during the last ten days of this holy month every Ramadan. It is this night that makes the last ten days of Ramadan more important.

Praying in this night, according to the holy sources, is equivalent to praying in thousand nights. As the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."

(Sahih Bukhari, Narrated by Abu Huraira)

The night of qadr is the most virtuous night of the year. Allah says in the Qur'an: "We revealed it on the night of power [that is, qadr]. What will tell you what the night of power is? It is better than a thousand months." Any action therein, for example, reciting the Qur'an, making remembrance of Allah, and so on, is better than acting for one thousand months which do not contain the night of qadr.

Because this is not specifically stated which of these nights is the Lailat-ul-Qadr,  for catching this night, some people do the Itekaf that means they confine themselves to the mosque during these ten days, stay up and pray during the whole of these nights. As Abu Said, one of the companions has narrated:

"We practiced Itikaf with Allah's Apostle in the middle ten days (of Ramadan). In the morning of the twentieth (of Ramadan) we shifted our baggage, but Allah's Apostle came to us and said, "Whoever was in Itikaf should return to his place of Itikaf, for I saw (i.e. was informed about the date of) this Night (of Qadr) and saw myself prostrating in mud and water." When I returned to my place the sky was overcast with clouds and it rained. By Him Who sent Muhammad with the Truth, the sky was covered with clouds from the end of that day, and the mosque which was roofed with leafstalks of date palm trees (leaked with rain) and I saw the trace of mud and water over the nose of the Prophet and its tip."

( Sahih Al Bukhari)

At another place, the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said:

"Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan" on the night when nine or seven or five nights remain out of the last ten nights of Ramadan (i.e.21, 23, 25, respectively).

(Sahih Bukhari, Narrated by Ibn Abbas)

At yet another place, it is narrated:

Once I went to Abu- Sa'id Al-Khudri and asked him, "Won't you come with us to the date-palm trees to have a talk?" So Abu Said went out and I asked him, "Tell me what you heard from the Prophet about the Night of Qadr." Abu Said replied, "Once Allah's Apostle performed Itikaf (seclusion) on the first ten days of the month of Ramadan 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 performed the Itikaf in the middle (second) ten days of the month of Ramadan and we too performed Itikaf with him. Gabriel came to him and said, 'The night which you are looking for is ahead of you.' In the morning of the 20th of Ramadan the Prophet delivered a sermon saying, 'Whoever has performed Itikaf with me should continue it. I have been shown the Night of "Qadr", but have forgotten its date, but it is in the odd nights of the last ten nights. I saw in my dream that I was prostrating in mud and water.'

(Sahih Bukhari, Narrated by Abu Salama)

Al-Bukhari and Muslim further record from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said:

"Whoever prays during the night of qadr with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins forgiven."

As to the supplication during the night of qadr, 'Aishah said:

"I asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of qadr, what should I say during it?' He said: 'Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.'"

(Related by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and by atTirmidhi, who called it sahih.)

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