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Holy
Prophet Mohammad ('s) has said:
"When Laylatul Qadr approaches, the Almighty Allah
orders Gabriel (a.s) to descend accompanied by a crowd of
angels to the earth with a green banner."
He
would mount the banner on top of the Ka'aba while having six
hundred wings, of which are not spread, except on Lailatul
Qadr. He would spread them during that night, and he and
all other angels would greet everyone who is standing for his
prayers, sitting, adoring or reciting the Holy Qur'an. They
would shake his hands with them and pray to the Almighty Allah
(swt) to accept their pleas, and they would continue doing so till
day break.
Why Better Than A Thousand Months?
Mathematically this night, which is comprised of new hours, is honoured
by Allah (swt) and praised over about eighty three years which is
the equivalent of a thousand months.
The
Umayyads fought Islam since its inception, and then they
fought the family of the Prophet ('s), that is the Ahlul
Bayt ('a), the
whole time they were in power. The first self-declared Umayyad ruler was
Abu Sufyan and the last was Muawiyah al-Himar.
So if you trace the period extending from the first year
during which Abu Sufyan forced his authority on the Muslims
until the Umayyads lost their grip of power, you will come to a
figure equivalent to a thousand months. It is as if the Holy
Qur'an is saying that one night in the sight of Allah (swt) is
better than all the thousand months of those corrupt Umayyads
who ruled the Muslim masses by sheer force for that time
period.
Ibne
Abbas quoted on page 5351 of "al-Sahih al Jami"
that the Holy Prophet
Mohammad ('s) said:
"Lailatul
Qadr is easy, airy, neither very hot nor very cold; the sun
rises on its morning coloured pale red".
The
Holy Prophet ('s) was saying at the morning of Lailatul Qadr
that the sun
rises without rays; looking like a washbowl, till it is high.
Laylatul Qadr is a serene night, neither hot nor cold, and no
comet is hurled during it.
It
has been quoted in a book - "Al Iqbal", by
Abul Fadl
ibn Muhammad al-Harwi, that the Holy Prophet ('s) has said, "whoever
remains awake during Laylatul Qadr and spends it in adoration
will have his penalty postponed till next year."
Prophet
Musa (p)
Once,
Prophet Musa ('a) said to the Almighty:
"I
desired to be near you", to which Allah (swt) said,
"Whoever desires to be near me should remain awake
during Laylatul Qadr (worshiping me)."
"And I wish to earn your mercy" - Allah (swt)
said,
"That is granted to the one who is merciful to the
indigent during this night."
"And I wish to pass on the right path" -
Allah (swt) said, "This is granted to the one who spends
alms during Laylatul Qadr."
"I wish to enjoy the trees and fruits of
paradise" - the Almighty (swt) said, "That is
granted to the one who praises me during this night."
Again Prophet Musa ('a) asked, "I wish to achieve salvation
from the fire" - Allah (swt) said, "That is granted
to the one who seeks forgiveness during Laylatul Qadr."
And then Prophet Musa ('a) said, "O 'Allah - I want to
achieve your pleasure", the Almighty (swt) said, "
I shall be pleased with any one who prays two rakaat Namaaz
during this night."
On
Laylatul Qadr, the night journey (isra) to heaven took place, and the
Almighty raised Isa ('a), son of Maryam ('a)
to Him, and on it, his servant and Prophet Musa ('a) died and so
did Joshua (Yusha' bin Nun) ('a), "wasi" of Moses
('a). Yusha' bin Nun carried out the first assignment of Musa
(a.s) on their first arrival at the Promised Land. After the
death of Harun ('a), he accompanied Musa ('a) in the desert
for forty years, and carried out all the assignments that were
previously carried out by Harun ('a). His name is not
mentioned in al-Quran but is referred to along with the
narratives of Musa ('a) in Sura Maidah, Kahaf and Waqeah. (Ref:
Syed Muhammad Hussain Shamsi, p.51)
The
Commander of the Faithful
The
Commander
of
the Faithful, Imam Ali ('a), was martyred also on the night
of Laylatul Qadr.
"The
martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him,
occurred before dawn of Friday, the twenty-first of the month
of Ramadan, in the year 40 A.H. He was a victim of the sword.
Ibn Muljam al-Muradi, may God curse him, killed him at the
mosque of Kufa, which Imam Ali A.S had come to, in order to
wake the people for the dawn prayer on the night of the
nineteenth of the month of Ramadan.
He
had been lying in wait for him from the beginning of the
night. When he (the Commander of the faithful) passed by him
while the latter was hiding his design by feigning sleep amid
a group of people who were asleep, he (Ibn Muljam) sprang out
and struck him on the top of his head with his poisoned sword
when Imam Ali ('a) was in Sajdah leading the Jamaat prayers.
He
lingered through the day of the nineteenth and the night and
day of the twentieth and the first third of the night of the
twenty-first. Then he, peace be on him, died a martyr and met
his Lord, Most High, as one who has been wronged. He, peace be
on him, knew of that before its time and he told the people of
it before its time." ("The Life of Imam Ali ('a) -
The First Holy Immaculate Imam", Victory News Magazine,
2002)
The
Almighty Allah (swt) has also said, "Peace it is, till the
break of the morning" -that is Laylatul-Qadr is a night of peace and tranquillity against all evils,
tribulations and mischief of the devils.
Please
let us remember each other in dua.
References
Abul Fadl
ibn Muhammad al-Harwi, "Al Iqbal".
"Al-Sahih al Jami", Ibne Abbas quoted on page
5351.
Shamsi, Syed Muhammad Hussain (1994) "The
Prophets of Islam", Alhuda Foundation, U.S.A.
Victory News Magazine (2002) "The
Life of Imam Ali (A.S.) - The First Holy Immaculate Imam".
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