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And
what will explain to thee what Laylatul Qadr is?
By
Muhammad Al-Shareef
Muslim
Link Staff Writer
It was
narrated that in the days that Musa (Alahi salaam) wandered with Bani
Israel in the desert an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands
towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa
(Alahi salaam) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were
in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought
intensified.
It was
revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel whom
had disobeyed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for more than forty years of
his life. “Let him separate himself
from the congregation,” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told Musa(Alahi
salaam). “Only then shall I
shower you all with rain.”
Musa
(Alahi salaam) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a
person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the
congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.” That man, waited, looking left and
right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he
knew that he was the one.
The
man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and
that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all
eternity.
He
raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with a humility he
had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said: “O Allah,
have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my
sins! O Allah, forgive
me!”
As
Musa (Alahi salaam) and the people of Bani Israel awaited for the sinner
to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa (Alahi salaam) asked Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the
sinner did not come forward.” And
Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of
that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel with
water.”
Musa
(Alahi salaam), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show
him to me O Allah!” Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years,
do you think that after his repentance I shall expose
him?”
Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed the Qur’an in the most blessed month; the
month of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur’an was sent
down.
On the
most blessed night, the Grand night: Laylatul Qadr; “Verily, we revealed the
Qur’an on the night of Qadr.”
Ibn
Jareer narrates, on the authority of Mujaahid that there was a man from Bani
Israel who used to spend the night in prayer. Then in the morning he would fight the
enemy in the Way of Allah during the day, until the evening and he did this for
a thousand months.
And so
Allah revealed the Surah: “Verily, We sent it down in the night of Al-Qadr”
until the verse “The night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months” That is, standing in prayer on that
night is better than the actions of that man.
Sufyaan
ath-Thawree reports, on the authority of Mujaahid (also), that the night of
Al-Qadr being better than a thousand months means that the good deeds performed
on it, fasting on it, and standing in prayer on it are better than a thousand
months’ good deeds, prayers and fasting.
(Narrated by Ibn Jareer)
It is
reported from Abu Hurairah that he said: “When the month of Ramadan came, the
Messenger of Allah said: ‘The month of Ramadan has come, a blessed month in
which Allah has made it obligatory for you to fast; in it the gates of Paradise
are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. In it is a night better than a thousand
months, whoever loses the benefit of it has lost something irreplaceable.’”
(Narrated by Imam Ahmad and An-Nasaa'i).
It is
reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever stood in prayer on the night of Al-Qadr, in
faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, he will have all of his previous sins
forgiven.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
This
one night surpasses the value of 30,000 nights. The sincere believer who worries day and
night about his sins and phases of neglect in his life patiently awaits the
onset of Ramadan. During it he
hopes to be forgiven by Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for past sins,
knowing that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) promised that all
who bear down during the last ten days shall have all their sins forgiven. To achieve this, the believer remembers
the Prophet’s (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) advice in different sayings
wherein he used words like “seek”, “pursue”, “search” and “look hard” for
Laylatul Qadr.
Laylatul
Qadr is the most blessed night. A
person who misses it has indeed missed a great amount of good. The mu’min should search for it in the
last ten nights of Ramadan, passing the nights in worship and
obedience.
For
those who catch the opportunity, their gift is that of past sins wiped
away.
The
Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) illustrated for us some
of the things we should be doing on this Grand Night. From his blessed Sunnah we find the
following:
Praying
Qiyaam: It
is recommended to make a long qiyaam prayer during the nights on which Laylatul
Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many ahadeeth, such as “Whoever stands (in qiyaam) in Laylatul Qadr [and it
is facilitated for him] out of faith and expectation (of Allah’s reward), will
have all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim;
the addition “and it is facilitated for him” is recorded by Ahmad from the
report of ‘Ubaadah Bin as-Samit; it means that he is permitted to be among the
sincere worshippers during that blessed night.]
Making
Supplications: It
is also recommended to make extensive supplication on this night. ‘A'ishah reported that she asked Allah’s
Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) “O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylatul Qadr,
what should I say during it?” And
he instructed her to say:
“Allahumma
innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee - O Allah! You are forgiving, and you love
forgiveness. So forgive
me.” [An
authentic Hadith recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and
at-Tirmidhi.]
Abandoning
Worldly Pleasures for the Sake of Worship: It
is further recommended to spend more time in worship during the nights on which
Laylatul Qadr is likely to fall.
This calls for abandoning many worldly pleasures in order to secure the
time and thoughts solely for worshipping Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala).
‘A'ishah
reported: “When the (last) ten
started, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
would tighten his izaar (i.e. he
stayed away from his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the
whole night awake (in prayer) and wake up his family.”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
And
she said: “Allah’s Messenger
(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used to exert more (in worship) on the last ten than
on other nights.” [Muslim]
Have
we estimated Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) correctly? The opportunity of Laylatul Qadr is
coming in the next few days. Life
is about people that take advantage of their opportunities to win the love of
Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), and this is indeed one of those
chances.
Abu
Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that which is greater
than the heavens and the earth. An
adult companion of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) cultivated
his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm
tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion rejected the claim and off
to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went the orphan
boy to complain. With his justness,
the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) measured the two
gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion. The orphan erupted crying. Seeing this, the Prophet (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) offered the companion, “would you give him the palm tree
and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?”
However, the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to
the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) missed the opportunity and went
away angry. But someone else saw
the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah. He
went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked, “Ya Rasul
Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to the orphan shall I have a tree
in Jannah?” The Messenger of Allah
(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “yes.”
Abu
Dah Daah chased after the companion and asked, “Would you sell that tree to me
for my entire garden?” The
companion answered, “Take it for there is no good in a tree that I was
complained to the Prophet about.”
Immediately,
Abu Dah Daah went home and his wife and children were playing in the
garden. “Leave the garden!” shouted
Abu Dah Daah, “we’ve sold it to Allah!
We’ve sold it to Allah!”
Some of his children had dates in their hand and he took the dates from
them and threw them back into the garden.
“We’ve sold it to Allah!”
When
Abu Dah Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul Allah
(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) stood over his slain body and remarked,
“How many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in
paradise?”
What
did Abu Dah Daah lose? Dirt? Bushes? Dates? What did he gain? He gained Jannah whose
expanse is the heavens and the earth.
Abu
Dah Daah did not miss his opportunity, and I pray to Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala) that we do not miss our opportunity of standing to Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) on Laylatul Qadr.
Dear
brothers and sisters, we do not obey, worship and revere Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala) in a way befitting of His Majesty.
Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed: “No just estimate have they made of
Allah, such as is due to Him. On
the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the
heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the partners they
attribute to Him” (Surat al-An’aam, Ayat 91).
Everything
that we have belongs to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala). When someone dies we say, Inna
lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon, Indeed to Allah we belong and indeed to
Him we shall return. This is not a
supplication just for when a soul is lost.
It is a supplication for every calamity that befalls a believer, even if
his sandal were to tear. Why? Because everything belongs to Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) and everything shall come back to him. Sit and try to count the blessings Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed upon you. Have you ever tried to count
stars?
“And
He giveth you of all that ye ask for.
But if ye count the favors of Allah, never will ye be able to number
them. Verily, man is given up to
injustice and ingratitude” (Surat Ibrahim, Ayat 34).
We
have not understood the weight of this Qur’an that we rest on our high shelves,
this Noble book that was sent to give life to the dead. For even if our hearts were as solid as
rock they would have crumbled to the ground in fear and hope of Allah’s
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala) punishment and Mercy. Could it be that our hearts are harder
than that mountain?
“Had
We sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble
itself and split asunder in fear of Allah (Surat al-Hashr, Ayat
21).
Dear
brothers and sisters, as you fill the Masajid for Qiyamul Layl in the last ten
nights of Ramadan, remember what Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) wants you to
know:
“Know
ye that Allah is strict in punishment and that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most
Merciful.”
There
shall be a night, some night in your life that you shall awaken in Jannah or
Hell fire. Anas ibn Malik, on his deathbed, prayed to Allah, (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala), “O Allah, protect from a night whose morning brings a journey to
hell fire.”
Peace shall descend on Laylatul Qadr until the morning. It may be that you shall leave the Masjid in a morning coming soon forgiven by Allah, Glorious and Most High.
